Inferno
by StrangeFox
Summary: Things are calming down for Nero as he gets into the swing of things again until, he sets out to find Dante and Vergil, only to find someone else down in Hell. Meanwhile the brothers journey to the center of the underworld to find the root of the Qliphoth tree. However it's not an easy task when there's some unresolved conflict that occurs between the brothers.
1. Chapter 1: Demon Days

It's been several weeks since the whole Qliphoth incident happened in Red Grave. Cities are getting rebuilt with the help of neighboring cities like Vestros and Heppin, but it doesn't help that it's still pretty bad. Streets are closed due to the amount of construction needing to take place after the Roots and demons pretty much wrecked all of the city. Then there's mourning families, who lost family members, friends, and so on after what happened with Urizen. I didn't know many people in Red Grave beyond the _Devil May Cry _office, but Kyrie and I still attended to some funerals to help with the orphaned children if any. The sky was clear of red clouds, no weird ass trees that suck on human blood, or any demons lately. There's an occasional hell portal and it'll spawn a few Empusas or Hell Cainas, but nothing like before. Everything was slowly getting back to normal; Trish, Lady, and Morrison are keeping the _Devil May Cry _location in Red Grave still alive and well, despite Dante being gone. Nico and I have been taking care of any location that needs urgent attention or when Trish and Lady are out on their missions. I looked out to the window, recalling the last time I saw Dante and Vergil. Hopping down into the portal into Hell, leaving me here alone again. First I find out I have family, and it's a shitty father who ripped off my arm just for power. Kyrie is glad I didn't go down with them out of fear of losing me, which I wouldn't want to worry her. Especially after the last phone call I made to her I left her worrying about my safety. Then the two assholes leave me here… am I not ready to help them? Am I still deadweight to Dante?

I sighed as I leaned against the window of the _Devil May Cry _van, our traveling side agency. People were barely using their cars, mostly walking since cars also got beaten to pieces with the whole thing.

"Hey sourpuss, you holding it together?" I looked over to Nico, who just pulled out a cigarette while waiting for the stop light to go green, and lit the butt of the cigg.

"Yeah, just tired," I replied, turning my attention back out onto the streets. Sparsely spaced people zipped by us as we drove at a steady speed of 40 mph on a 30 mph. It's better than 50 mph or 60 mph back in June. My head was still a mess after what's happened over the past month. First my arm gets ripped off, Vergil splits himself in two to make V and Urizen, then I'm thrown into a family mess… where I not only lose one person, but two and one I still want to beat the living shit out of…

"We gotta mission down in sector 2 of Red Grave" Nico spoke with the cigarette between her teeth, breathing out toxic fumes.

"Jeez you have to smoke that shit now?" I frustratedly said, rolling down the passenger window. I stuck my head out of the window to breath in fresh air, avoiding the horrid smell of her cigarettes.

"Hey that's what you get for working with me buddy!" she replied, waving her hand a bit. A trail of smoke dissipated as her hand waved in the middle of it. "Without me you wouldn't be here."

"That is true…" I muttered, remembering the day she fitted me my first Devil Breaker prosthetic, Overture. It was strange to be able to grab things again with that arm. It wasn't that long before I had an arm again, but to see it robotic made it different There was a lot of tweaking on the arm, and annoying malfunctions whenever I got "too rough" when trying it out. _I'm happy to see you smile again, Nero… _Kyrie's words echoed in my head, making me smile to see her happy. With my arm fully healed, I still miss using the Devil Breakers. I can't activate my Devil Trigger as often as I'd like to, so I still rely on the Breakers to get the jobs done Thankfully, Nico has been working on them to where I just slip them on like a glove. I still don't understand how my arm came back still, though it seems that Dante and Vergil never have trouble recovering impalements. Maybe it was similar to them, though why it didn't heal when I got my arm became infected, is beyond me. As we got to where the hell portal was, I walked to the back of the van and began stocking up on some breakers. They were your typical Empusas with a Hell Antenora bunch, nothing truly problematic other than annoying.

"We are heeere!" Nico shouted from the front, screeching the van to a stop. The whole van swayed from side to side as she placed it in park. I slammed against the table, unable to get back up until the van stopped.

"Could you not drive like a lunatic?!" I yelled at her, regaining my balance. Nico looked back to me with a teasing look across her face.

"Could you not expect A+ driving from me? God you sound like a mother, Nero…" She joked as she slinked into her seat, beginning her second smoke break of the day. I rolled my eyes at her, even though she can't see me. Though I wish she did see me, but she'd probably give me a goofy look or a middle finger. Grabbing Blue Rose and Red Queen off from the racks next to the doorway, I opened up the van doors leaped out.

"Later!" I wave off to her, knocking on the van doors. She rolled down her window and rested her arms onto the edge of the door.

"Later gator" Nico replied back with a big grin. The demons roared with a guttural screech, clacking their pinchers and forming into a battle stance. The thrill of being on the battlefield, man do I miss it. Reaching over to my sword, I grabbed the handle and began revving its motor. It growled with intensity, heating the blade up in return. As the first Empusa ran over to me to attack, I striked down upon it. The creature stumbled backwards, while the others began to gang up against me. Unfortunately for them, I pummeled them with a string of combos. Their blood stained my sword a bit, but I didn't mind. The pulsing adrenaline of the battle got me excited to pull off finishing blows onto the enemies. As soon as the first Empusa got up on its legs again, it charged toward me and took a hit onto my arm.

"Dammit!" I grunted, taken aback a bit. The Hell Antenora found the opportunity to try to hit me as well, but I blocked the attack, stunning the demon. Right when the opportunity hit me, I finished off the Hell Antenora and Empusa out with a final blow with a Roulette Spin. Turning my attention to the last hell spawn, I pulled out Blue Rose and shot it a few times. The bullets hit the chest of the bug-like creature, stunning it long enough for me to use Gebera to fire a laser at it. The Empusa shriveled into ashes, spawning Red Orbs everywhere. It is so good to be fighting again. While it was a longer break than I wanted it to be, it was much needed to check on Kyrie and get things back in order. I picked up some of the health recovery items that were dropped by the enemies, then started to make my way back to the van

"Don't forget to pick up some of the left overs Nero!" Nico shouted from the van. I looked down to my feet to see a piece of metal from the Antenora's blades and a piece of the leg from the Empusa from earlier. I didn't mind paying her like this for every Breaker I break. Though I question half of the time how any of this functions for my Breakers. Maybe she sells them off of the black market and makes a quick buck that way? If she does, I'm not wanting to be the meat shield when a fight breaks out. Picking up the salvaged demon parts and Red Orbs, I returned back to the van with my findings.

"Soooo? How was it?" Nico smirked, resting her head on the window of the van.

"Fun" I say out of breath with a smile. I rested on the hilt of my sword, punctured into the ground to keep me standing.

"Your arm says otherwise," Nico pointed out to the graze on my upper arm. It was bleeding, of course. The tear in my clothing made it look even worse in my opinion, since it barely hurt at all leaning against it.

"It'll be fine" I reassured her, shrugging it off. She gave me a strange look, then motioned for me to come inside. I opened up the van doors, breathing in the smell of oil and a smoker. The smell died down which was good, rather be smelling of oil than smoke. Though if we ever go back to Fortuna, she'll have to sober up enough to where Kyrie doesn't suspect me of smoking. I went over to the lounge area, into the cabinet where all of the medicine was stored. It was a hot mess, with over the counter painkillers piled into one area while bandaids are scattered everywhere. Neither of us have the time to organize any of this, or want to. I grabbed the bigger bandages and the anti-septic bottle, then sat down at the small booth across from the cabinets. Out of everything in the van, the booth remained the most clean. No left over food, plates, or tools left by either me or Nico were there. The seats were still comfortable and soft, table was clear of oil and other mysterious stickiness. Maybe V decided to take a shot at cleaning it cause it'd be so messy. It'd make sense since he'd always sit there waiting for the next stop. Hopefully now V will knock some sense into Vergil to make him clean up after himself… I wish I knew why he did any of this in the first place.

I took off my blue jacket, revealing the wound better. I started pouring anti-septic over the gash, which was deeper than I thought it was, but I've had worse situations. Like having a weird ass demonic arm after some corrupted Order of the Sword knight decides to try to kill me and Kyrie. Seeing Kyrie in a hospital bed in the infirmary made me so relieved, even if I wound up with a horrific arm at least she made it out okay. I still remember her and Credo throwing buckets full of anti-biotics on the gash to try to make the infection go away. Though nothing ever worked, and it kept on spreading through out my arm. Eventually I just wrapped it up until I could utilize it against the demons, which was a nice plus when I had it. Once my arm was bandaged up, I patched up my coat and slipped it right back on.

"Ready to head back to the main office?" Nico walked over to me, leaning against the wall of the van.

Grinning, I said "Yeah. And if there's any demons, I can handle it." Nico smiled, cheek to cheek. She excitedly hopped into the driver's seat and revved up the car. I put my findings into the "donations" labeled box on Nico's work bench, which was usually scraps of metal, demon parts and some loose wires. Never have I seen it filled unless if I found a lot during a mission or me and V picked up a bunch over the mission.

"Hey Nero" she called from the front. "Have you thought about driving?"

"After seeing yours, hell no" I half joked. "Besides I got you to drive me around and walking is enough whenever needed."

"Are you scaaared?" Nico teased, trying to keep herself from giggling.

"Hell no!" I exclaimed, coming around to the front. "I just… don't wanna…" I trailed off. I wasn't scared of driving, rather I preferred to walk. Plus with the amount of portals that would appear around these parts, there'd be no point in getting a car or anything unless if I had time to fix it every time it got banged up. Plus, I deal with less people with walking and less idiots attempting to scrape by my car because they're late. And… Kyrie wouldn't be more worried than she already probably is about me. Which how she trusts Nico to drive the _Devil May Cry _van is a stroke of God blessing her or something. Putting my head out of the window, I breathed in the fresh air, free of hell spawns and now of actual trees. Sometimes I wonder how the hobo and the bastard are doing down in the Underworld. Probably fine, kicking demon ass and all… though something about them leaving really bothered me.

—

"Doo do dooo… Hell is no fuun," Dante yawned, stretching his arms out toward the sky. The rugged silver haired man cracked a few joints as he outstretched his arms behind his back. It's been several weeks since we left Nero, and it's been closing in on verging of murdering my foolish brother again. Though I should've known the repercussions of following him, if anything I'd try to have him stay back. But since he went ahead of me, I was ultimately screwed either way. The fact he uttered the words "jackpot" was the realization that this was going to be a long, tremendous journey. Gripping the handle of my father's sword, the Yamato, I sped ahead of Dante.

"We need to reach the Qliphoth root before it can reach the human world again," I urgently spoke, frustrated. Dante grabbed my collar, pulling me back into a stop.

"Wooahhh slow down _mi compadre_" Dante said, completely relaxed about the entire situation. "No need to rush exactly, _mon frère_. It's going to take us days to reach the Qliphoth."

"That doesn't mean we can slow down, Dante" I spat out my words in an icily tone. I shrugged off Dante and continued forth. How can he think we have all of the time in the world? We don't even know how many days up there it has been. Could have been years, or a few hours. The time in the Underworld is completely different than it is in the human world. There's no telling when you will have come back a minute later, or a century later. Which, for me was years later.

"Yeah yeah…" Dante waved me off, scratching the back of his head. The pale white grass brushed up against my boots as we traversed through the plain fields. Specks of the crimson soil peaked from the ground whenever the oddly colored long grass was swept from the wind. The skies had a light crimson hue, reflecting off of the ground. Nothing here was like on the human world. You won't find anything but varying colors or red or purple or black. If my coat wasn't so dirty and as black, it'd make me stick out more. In the far distance, our goal lies at the central root of the Qliphoth tree. A pulsating tree that illuminated like a beacon, beckoning lowly scums of the demon world to gravitate. Along the way, there was several roots uprooted from the bloody soil, reaching up towards the skies. Several groups of demons began to swarm next to the one we were most closest to.

"Guessing that's our next stop?" Dante inquired me. I looked over to Dante to see him grabbing his sword Dante, which was very different from what our father once gave him. He looked ready to go finally rest.

"Let's head over" I curtly replied, then we both broke into a run and dived straight into battle. Several creatures snapped their heads towards us, then gave a howling screech before coming towards us in retaliation. Unsheathing our swords, we began to slash through the hords of enemies that spawned around the root. I summoned my holographic swords and began to plunge them into enemies. In their staggered state, I teleported towards them and drove my sword up through them. We would finish each others enemies as we moved on to fresher targets. Dante eventually pulled out Cavaliere and began to grind the enemies to pieces. As I finished up on one of the last remaining creatures, more began to spawn in. Quickly I shouted over to Dante's roaring weapon "Dante! The root!"

"HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" Dante maniacally laughed as he drove in figure 8s over the enemies, unable to hear me. Frustrated, I threw one of my blue swords at Dante's head, intending to shatter upon impact. The thick skulled brother finally took notice and looked over to me.

"The root! Now!" I shouted then immediately went on guard before the enemy could take advantage of my opening.

"Ooooh got'cha!" he shouted back at me, braking the weapon. He switched gears as I prepared a clearing for both me and him to finish off the root. When it was accomplished, we both headed towards the root and with my precision with Dante's brute force, we took down the root. We finished off the remains of the enemies, which were pretty weakened by the impact of the root collapsing into ashes. My heart pounded against my chest, raising a commotion inside of me. I put away my sword back into its embroidered sheath, completely out of breath. Meanwhile Dante was just about to collapse from exhaustion.

"We can rest here for a bit to catch our breaths" I suggested, and immediately Dante flopped onto the ground. This man… I rolled my eyes at him as I got down onto the ground nearby him and got comfortable. I pulled out my black leather bound book and opened it up. It was discolored from the many battles I've endured from it, some pages even being ripped from the demons. Focusing in on the book, I began to relax myself a bit. After a long journey of fighting and walking, it's nice to sit down and read just for a little bit. My mind finally began to leave the world—

"I thought you gave Nero that book?" Dante interrupted my immersion from the book. Like usual.

"This is a different book," I said, trying to get back into the book. "Though, when I am finished, I may give it to Nero."

"But what about me?" he cried out, sitting up. "Why you no share?"

He pulled out his big puppy eyes, though it was more like an old dog wishing for one last treat before it was put down. With a smirk, I replied snidely "I can't recall the last time you read a book, let alone a piece of paper."

"I CAN read for your information!" Dante argued, very childishly so. "How else did I get the license to the _Devil May Cry _office in Red Grave?"

Ohhh the satisfaction of his easy temper was so delightful. This idiot will fall for anything, I do swear. "Didn't Trish help you with spelling?" I smugly said, waiting for the explosion.

"Do you really want to go right now?!" he yelled, hopping up onto his feet. And just like that he fell for it. "I bet you couldn't read that book until you were 20!"

"Are you serious right now?" I cocked my eyebrow at him, putting down the book. Dante smirked as if he just insulted me.

"Yeah you were just pretending!" he pulled out a sword. "Like how you pretended to forget that you had a kid!"

My blood boiled the minute the words came out of his mouth. I teleported towards him and launched an attack. We clashed swords, barely hitting each other until I took the chance to hit him with the blunt of my blade. He got up quickly onto his feet, as if it was nothing that I did to him. He whipped out King Cerebus as volted over to me with a high kick. Quickly I dodged out of the way, nearly getting grazed. He whipped out Ebony and Ivory and began to shoot at my feet. Every bullet went past my boots as I teleported to dodge every one of them. Eventually we both charged at each other, with a sword in our hands, and charged towards each other. Once again we were out of breath, though it was worse since we just got out of a fight. If my chest wasn't screaming in agony, I'd finish off the scum to prove to the idiot I'm better. Though before I could even suggest that, Dante fell to the ground once more. I staggered over to my twin to see the fool laugh in exhaustion.

"That was fun…" Dante wheezed. His sword laid beyond reach from him. I dropped down to his level, keeping my sword nearby me.

"Heh… sure it was" I chuckled. I lightly punched Dante in the leg, before pulling out my book to read again. Once more, with Dante passed out, I delved into my own world with my book teleporting me there. Free for me to explore and ponder with no worries of the present or future for the time being.


	2. Chapter 2: Invincible

Thank you all to those who read the first chapter! I wasn't expecting so many people to see it quite honestly XD Feel free to leave comments/questions down below if there's something that I should improve upon or clarification. Just be polite/constructive about it ^-^

I hope you all enjoy this second chapter!

The _Devil May Cry _office, home to an uncle that has platonic relationships with two women… which is surprising it's platonic. The office has gotten in better shape last I saw it. The only light that was on was the sign itself. Now the building's sign is slightly dimmer, but light shone from the inside the building. Either Trish found Dante's secret stash of cash, usually used for his unhealthy relationship with pizza, or they made enough to keep it lit inside. Once Nico parked the van, I hopped out of the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. She got out of the van as well, locking the door behind her with her van keys. The neon blue sign _Devil May Cry _dimmed as the car powered down. _Since you are now apart of my crew, you need a sick sign to show off…_ Dante's words echoed in the back of my head, recalling the day he gave me the job at the Devil May Cry. Dante begged for the sign to be on, which Nico ignored me when I said no and decided to put it on. At least it wasn't on the garage by the orphanage that Kyrie and I work at. For the longest time I just had it leaning up on my work bench, taking in calls from Dante or Morrison if someone needs a pest control. We both walked into the main office doors, ringing a bell chime that's attached to the door.

Inside the building was a small receptionist desk with scattered papers all over the place. A large chandelier hung over our heads, faintly flickering. The floor was lightly coated in dirt and rubble, and mysterious stains on the red carpet were still there. There was a red velvety chair and couch along the back of the wall, though if I were to sit on it it'd make a puff of dust in the air. The trash can was still around, but not on the floor thankfully. I don't know how these people live with a scattered mess everywhere. Trish was at the desk, counting a handful of money she has in her hand.

"Devil May Cry, how can we help you?" She said in a false cheery voice, as if she was a operation caller, transferring calls to other people. Trish looked up from the stack and finally noticed the two of us. "Hey welcome back, you two" she changed her voice to be more genuine.

"Hey Trish!" Nico waved to her as we both headed over to the desk.

"Got the job done?" she asked, swinging her legs off of the desk and underneath it. Trish currently took care of the main office, taking care of the phone calls and maybe cleaning the place. Meanwhile Lady would be taking on jobs around Redgrave, keeping the shop afloat. Sometimes Trish will go out and do a mission if none of us were available or we need back up. If you were to ask who owned the place with Dante being gone, both would claim they were because they were doing the most work and got there first. Beats me to know who got there first, quite frankly.

"Yessiree!" Nico exclaimed, slapping a crumbled up slip with the mission details on it. Trish took the piece of paper and threw it into a pile, where the rest of the mission details were.

"It wasn't too bad" I smirked, feeling good about myself. Trish flashed a smile as if she cared, then went back to sorting money.

"I'll be getting back to you two with payroll once I sort out the bills," she says in a distracted voice. She gestured over to a back room that had stalls for doors in the back. "Morrison might got some missions for you two in the back."

"Thanks" I thanked her as I walked past the desk, into the backroom. The backroom was filled with weaponry on the walls, a bench on the wall, and a wooden chair where Morrison would usually sit. It was a cramped room that probably used to be a storage room or something. It doesn't help that the weapons along the wall made it feel even more cramped. Most of them were Dante's that he picked up over the years, others were Trish's and Lady's weapons that they either picked up or are in need of fine tuning. I will admit, they were nice to look at and occasionally I'd wander in here if I'm in need of some inspiration for any of my weapons. Morrison and Lady were there, talking about something until I entered the room. Lady turned to me and smiled.

"Hey Nero, Nico," she welcomed us in with a smile. I always found her nicer than Trish, at least in terms of welcoming us. Though Trish has her good moments.

"Hey" I greeted her, waving to the both of them. Morrison smiled, tipping his hat off to me. "Got any missions for me?"

"I think so" Morrison leaned forward into his chair as he spoke. Reaching down underneath his chair, he pulled out a brown folder and opened it up. Lady leaned up against the wall, crossing her arms in a relaxed position. Morrison flipped through countless papers that were compiled in the folder, pulling out a few into his right hand. Morrison closed the folder shut, keeping the few he held in his hand. Handing fliers over to me, I began scanning through them. Most were city offers, throwing it out there for devil hunters to clear away for construction. The city pays well for the job unlike their previous offers, though at times it's more so just to take out the tree roots than to take out demons. The last one was a note with directions that are off the coast of Red Grave, nearby Vestos to get rid of the Qliphoth root that grew on the road just recently. It's rare to see any grow anymore, with devil hunters taking care of them now. Occasionally, a new root will come up from the ground; however it is not as big compared to when Urizen was around making a mess of things.

"More city missions, huh?" I sighed, looking through the city ads again.

"Hey mayor's reaching out to me personally now to get you guys to work" Morrison shrugged, setting the folder down beside him. He leaned back into his chair, stretching out his arms as he folds them behind his head. "It's not everyday that the mayor reaches out to you for devil hunting after years of ignoring us."

"True…" I agreed. Since it's my last shift of the week, I should be going over to Fortuna to meet up with Kyrie. We both agreed that whenever I had a shift off during the week, I would head over to her. If I couldn't make it, we'd call to check up on how things are going. Neither of us have cell phones, just using the landlines which is much simpler. Plus I broke/lost seven already and I can't afford one/banned from getting more. I took the one on the edge of the city since it was on the way to Fortuna. I handed back the rest of the offers to Morrison, who chuckled to himself as he saw what I picked.

"You always pick the ones that isn't city ordered these days" Morrison chuckled, shoving them back into his folder.

"My shift is almost done and I'm heading home for a while to check up on things back in Fortuna" I shrugged, walking out of the room. "Makes sense to drive to somewhere that's on the way up, right?"

Morrison let out a laugh, shaking his head. Lady sighed, shaking her head as well.

"Next week, you are on city patrol Nero," she said. "Me and Trish can't always do city work—"

"As long as I'm getting paid big bucks, I'm okay with it!" Trish shouted from the other room, overhearing our conversation. Lady grumbled to herself, muttering something about why is she's always stuck with her. I withheld in my laughter, waving goodbye to the two while heading out of the small closeted area. Trish was still at the desk, counting money into piles as usual. It's weird to know how Trish, a demon according to her, can be so good with money. She was able to keep the place not about to crumble, unlike Dante where it was comically bad, and pay everyone. Trish got up from her relaxed position and asked "Hey Nero! Wanna get paid today?"

Right, it was pay day of course. I went over to her before I left and took the envelope that had my name written on it. The way she writes my name is weird, the "r" starts off as an "l" but quickly added the curve to make it an "r". So it would look like she write my name as "Nelo" instead of "Nero"… which I don't get. Maybe it was something from her previous job, if she had one before Dante. I thanked Trish for the payment that Dante never gets on time, and after Nico got her share, we both headed back to the van. Nico hopped into the front seat, shoving her envelope into the compartment that's in between us. I slipped mine into my case for Red Queen, so I don't forget to lock it up back in Fortuna.

"Ready to go?" she eagerly says, starting up the van.

Bracing for the batshit driving ahead, I replied with a weary smile "Yeah, let's go."

Instantly she revved up the engines, turning on the headlights. Before she put it into Drive, Nico slipped in a cassette tape into the dashboard. The old van took a while before it could spit out any sort of music. She slammed on the dash and immediately it began pumping out loud electronic/metal music, blasting out of the almost-dead speakers. I looked over to her and grinned.

"I knew it was your favorite," she waved it off, as she shifted gears and stepped on the gas pedal. "So I thought I'd give ya a lil boost to finish this mission out with a bang."

I playfully punched her in the arm, thanking her. "Thanks Nico. You're one of the best."

"One of?!" Nico snapped at me, looking fiercely at me. "I am _the_ best you will ever meet!" She punched me hard on the shoulder, stinging it a bit. Nico rolled her eyes at me, shaking her head while muttering how I called her one of the best. Recovering from her aggressive response to me, I slunk into my car seat, zoning out to the music. The sun was beginning to set onto the horizon, changing the color of the sky from a light blue to a golden orange color.

—

Home sweet home, in a way I guess. Or at least for the demon side of me. Hell smelled like a trash heap that's been out for a month. Especially when demons came out to harass us. Nothing but the blood soaked ground that caked our shoes, weird white grass that acted like grass but not, and the huge tree that's still breaching up to the human world. It's been a while since I went to the Underworld last, never liked it since they don't serve pizza. Taking down the Qliphoth roots was easy enough: Take down the surrounding demons, I buzzsaw a nice dent into the root and then me and Vergil finish it off. It gets repetitive after a while… and annoying when that's the only thing in sight for what feels like hundreds of miles. Vergil remained a few steps ahead of me, leading the way towards the next pit stop. His navy blue tattered trench coat briskly flew behind him, like a cape. His sword, the Yamato, by his side at all times as if it was apart of him. It tickles the brain a bit of how it got to be so tattered. Maybe it was just old or something, or went through more than I thought he did. The last I saw of him, that wasn't as Nelo Angelo, was when we were nineteen and he left to take care of what he started. Which that didn't end well… leading to him working for Mundus, turning him into some ungodly creature. The only thing that was recognizable was the amulet that our mother gave to us as kids. I still wonder how or why he turned to Mundus for power, even though I thought he was going to stop being power hungry. And I was going to help him by going with him, but I guess I wasn't good enough to help him.

In the far distance, there was some sort of ruins structure with demons surrounding it. A large towering demon stalked the grounds, guarding it as if it was its territory. Smaller demons scattered around its feet, some being squished like bugs beneath its feet. Vergil came to a halt, allowing for me to catch up with him finally. He glared at the sight ahead, placing his hand on his sword.

"Looks like a biggie" I commented, looking at the same direction he was.

"Indeed," he replied. It was pretty far away still, with a few Qliphoth roots growing around the area. Most of the creatures didn't huddle around the roots rather the ruins, making it easier for us to take care of the roots before we take care of the big guy. We headed towards the first root, found the weak point, and chopped it down. As it shriveled away, we ran over to the next one, took it down, and repeated until all was cleared out. We remained focused the entire time, concentrating on our strength to defeat the tree. As we cut down the last root, I noticed Vergil taking his time taking down the tree. It was like he was hesitating to take it down, not wanting to get rid of it entirely. After we finished, I hooked the Devil Sword Dante (named after yours truly) onto my back and walked alongside Vergil. He kept a speedy pace, trying to keep me behind him as he leads on pretending to be older than me. Even though we're twins and he only came out a few minutes before me according to our mother. Picking up the pace, I eventually synced with his speed walking.

"Another one bites the dust" I sang a little jokingly, nudging Vergil. He looked at me with a confused scowl.

"I don't understand what you are referencing," he replied stiffly. I waved it off, not wanting to bother to explain the song. I kinda forgot that he missed out on a lot of human culture. And he was a huge nerd so he wouldn't listen to anything that isn't classical.

"Anyway," I say changing the subject. "How does it feel to take down the Qliphoth tree and not your brother this time?"

"I don't know," he replied, not taking his eyes off of the destination. "How does it feel to not fight me every waking moment?"

"I don't fight every waking moment of your existence!" I argued playfully. "I fight you when you're being a douchebag."

"So… every waking moment?" Vergil clarified, lowering his voice. He cocked his eyebrow.

"I'm not fighting you now, aren't I?" I tried to lighten his mood, but it only darkened his face. I rolled my eyes, same old Vergil. Even as kids he was always like this. The poor sap. As we reached closer to the ruins, the gigantic demon took notice of us, and stomped right over to us, crushing anything below its feet. It was a big ol' guy, with long legs, a face a mother could only love of a three huge eyed freak, a long tail that had spikes trailing all the way up its spine, and several eyes scattered around its body. Its main three purple eyes locked eyes on us and halted in its tracks when it got closer to us. The creature bared its yellow/blackened jagged teeth, frowning as it looked down upon us.

"WHO DARES TO TRESPASS ON MY TERRITORY!" The creature bellowed in a loud demanding voice. It looked like a half baked dragon that had some implants to make its legs look taller, but it was a botched up surgery. The legs of the creature were similar to trunks of a tree, having deep indentations forming its way up the beast before getting to the scaly torso. It lowered its head, which was about a Vergil tall and two Vergils on his side wide. "DO YOU WISH FOR DEATH, PATHETIC HUMANS?" The large head spoke, spitting with every word that comes from its mouth. The creature's nostrils flared in rage, trying to display its dominance by being bigger than us. Pitiful attempt, truly.

I waved away the horrific stench from me, and called out "Have you heard of hygiene? It might be something you wanna look into."

"YOU DARE MOCK ME, HUMAN?!" The creature shrieked, horribly offended by my innocent question. The demon took a few large sniffs of the air, and grinned widely as it spoke "AH, YOU ARE NOT JUST A HUMAN. SPARDA BLOOD IS WITHIN YOU, IS IT NOT?"

"Does it matter?" Vergil muttered. "And you reek of demon scum blood."

"You reek of something my cat threw up last week!" I added, making Vergil snicker. "Maybe you should try going vegan or something, cause that meat is no bueno for you. kid!" I taunted it even more, making it even more agitated.

"YOU WILL NOT SMEAR THE NAME OF MUGHUN, THE GREAT!" Mughun roared fiercely like its bellowing voice, instigating the fight. Quickly, Vergil teleported to the legs and began a string of hits onto the back legs. I hurried after him, following his pattern of hitting the back legs. Like a tree, we chipped away at the bark-like plating of the beast, weakening it at the joints. After the 'entieth time of hacking at the leg, it howled in pain and swiped at me and Vergil with its tail, knocking us both back. Once we gained consciousness again, I ran towards the fiend again and worked on the next leg. The demon lowered its long neck and blew an icy chill breeze at us. Before the ice breath could hit me, I snapped open my wings from my Devil Trigger form and flew over the white fog. As my body scaled over into my Devil Trigger form, I swooped down onto its back and stabbed my sword into it. I clung on with all of my strength, using my claw-like feet to dig into the creature. Once I got my grip on it, I began shooting at it with my powered up Ebony and Ivory guns, right into the exposed parts.

"Dante! Hit the eyes!" Vergil called up to me, taking care of weakening the legs more. I finger gunned him with a smirk and exchanged Ebony and Ivory for Coyote-A. Popping in the shotgun bullets, I blasted at the first purple eye. The eye instantly dissolved into a purple goo, then to dust. I kept going around on the body, still clinging on to the sword as it kept trying to bat us away. Until I realized, there was one thing I forgot that existed: the tail. In a blink of an eye, the tail knocked me off the damn creature, launching me onto the ground. I tried to brace the fall by trying to land on my side and shield myself, but I was seconds from hitting the ground when I realized. My leather-like red wings thankfully braced part of the fall for me, though it hurts like hell thanks to it.

"You fool" Vergil sneered as he scowled at me, then turned his attention back to the fiend and went full Devil Trigger. He shot up to the knees of the creature and summoned his holographic swords. As the all the swords surround him, he fires each one like a missile towards each eye of the creature. Not a single shot was wasted as it hit each small eye. Once I regained my strength, I brought out Balrog and began knocking the creature's legs off with several good combos.

"YOU HAVE NOT YET DEFEATED ME, FIENDS!" Mughun cried out as its spikes began to glow a light purple color.

"Vergil! Its charging up!" I shouted to Vergil, who was dodging the swiping motions of the beast while taking out the eyes.

"I know that!" he yelled back in a distorted voice. I whipped out Cavaliere and finished off the final leg. The beast collapsed to the ground, making the lights grow dim. I brought out King Cerebus and used the pole feature to volt myself upon the creature's back. A few flying enemies started to come out of Mughun's back and shoot lasers at us. Quickly I grabbed Dante and deflected the hits back to them. I switched back to King Cerebus to finish punching out the remaining eyes. Meanwhile, Vergil destroyed every spike off its back before teleporting to the neck of the beast and chopped off the head. It roared until it couldn't no more, ceasing to resist any longer. Vergil, like the over the top person he is, pauses before putting his sword away . I rolled my eyes, shaking my head, and hopped down to him.

"That wasn't too bad" I say to him, putting my sword away.

He smirked as he recomposed himself into a more relaxed manor. "I've dealt with demons that smelled better than him."

"I smell better than him even!" I joked, and we both broke into a laughter.

"Do you even have a cat, Dante?" Vergil asked.

"Hell no. Though sometimes strays wander in the office. Lady took care of them whenever they came for a quick snack," I replied, shrugging. "I just asked her to make sure they didn't make a mess."

"Good. They'd die with your standards of living."

"Hey!" I shouted as he quickly dashed off, slowing down to a stop for me to catch up finally. The remaining demons that were scattered before left or got caught in the crossfire and died. Which makes our job easier if they just decide 'well, I guess I'll die now'. But that's just wishful thinking… they want power/human blood cause it taste yummy and they want to rule the Underworld. If only they'd realize they won't get anywhere if they keep jumping into the fray and getting hit in the process. We turned our attention to the bigger structure that was looming over us. It was a stone tower that's split in half, with the upper half being embedded into the ground. There was several demons and a Qliphoth root growing at the top of it, so there's no excuse to not go there.

"Guess we're heading there next?" I asked Vergil, knowing the answer.

Without even looking at me, he briskly replied "Let's go," and headed off. _He just ignored you, why not roughen him up_, my inner voice sneered to me, irking me. I could sense its large grin, itching for a fight. Taking a deep breath in and out, like what Lady taught me, I ignored the thought. Vergil's always like this, I remind myself. There's never a day when he's not a spicy tuna roll. Though, sometimes I wish for that prickliness to go away and not act like I'm non-existent.


	3. Chapter 3: Gravity

Author's note: I realize a little too late that Nero has a system for where he has his Devil Breakers, it's in the art book that he has something attached to his belt like a little rack that he can stock up. It's not shown in game (cause I'm guessing it'd be just a small detail that wouldn't matter). But I didn't know until recently when I was researching the artbook for artist reasons. I could change it but it wouldn't have been as funny. So enjoy this alt universe where Nero has a satchel for his Devil Breakers. Or what some may call a murse :3

This was originally going to be posted after Lent, but I figured I can promote later on Tumblr. So I apologize to those who find out through Tumblr XP

* * *

The ride there was slow but peaceful. As per usual I watched the people on the streets as they roam about as we drove past them. Occasionally, I'll look over to Nico and her speedometer as nearly killing us with her horrifying speed. The ride to edge of the town is a bit of ways since _Devil May Cry _was in the center of the town. It's been a while since I visited Vestos, or at least I think I have. It tends to blend in with Red Grave, until you wind up in the middle of it. Vestos is more quieter than Red Grave, especially when it comes to Hell Gates. There's not many calls from them, thanks to their own task force. This has been my third time going over there to take care of a demon problem. However this time it's not as far into the city unlike last time. Vestos seems to do better than Red Grave, however it has one thing that I cannot deny is better in Red Grave: the pay. Plus, it's home to a lot of devil hunters and the pay is nice since the city relies so heavily on us. The government practically relies on us for these jobs, which is great especially with the Qliphoth incident going on.

"I'll be heading over to Heppin to see how my old man's holding up his shop" Nico spoke up as she slowed to a stoplight, for once.

"I thought your father died?" I asked her, scratching the back of my head. That's what she mentioned earlier from what I remembered.

"Nah it's my adoptive dad, technically half uncle since my real daddy left and died like the ass he is," she explained, lowering her voice when she talked about her biological father. Her hands clenched the steering wheel tighter as she trailed off. That's right… her father was Agnus. At least he's not alive like mine... "Yeah well that's the past, and you can't do shit about it," she continued, waving it off like it was nothing. The light turned green and she stepped on the gas pedal, pushing me back into my seat. We remained quiet for the rest of the ride there. There was signs on the road, saying the road was closed due to "construction". More like demon hoards and a stupid tree _destroying_ the road. Nico drove around the signs, going off onto the shoulder and into the grass to bypass them. The Qliphoth roots weaved in and out of the highway, destroying the asphalt of the road. Nico swerved the car around, parking close to the destruction, but enough road for her to turn around. I got up from the seat and walked towards the back. Once I reached the array of Breakers on her workbench, I picked off some of my favorites off of the ring, stuffing them into a satchel.

"Hey hey you better be careful with the merch, asshole" Nico called out in the back, turning around to me. Smirking, I crammed more into my bag while looking straight at her. Her face scrunched into a frown the more I jammed in there. She got up from the driver's seat and stormed over to me. Hurriedly, I held up the satchel over my head before she could reach it. Nico hopelessly flailed her arms, reaching up to my satchel in attempt to steal my bag.

"Nero, you ass these are fragile!" she grunted as she attempted to reach over. I held the bag higher, making me feel superior.

"Well, if you want them, come and get them" I mocked in her face. Her brows furrowed at her brown eyes, making a pouty face. Is this what it feels like to be the superior one? It's kinda nice in a way to feel actually bigger than someone and not made fun of for being short for a guy. Nico mischievously smiled. Wait what is she doing? Before I could answer my own question, I regretted standing there like a dope. Elbowing in the gut, she snatched away the satchel filled with Devil Breakers. I hunched over in pain, feeling the sting in my gut.

"Never mess with a Goldstein" she pushed up her glasses, then tapped my nose with a smile, sticking her tongue out. I tried to get her back, but she hit me well. Nico dug around in my satchel, pulling out Breakers. From what I could see, none were damaged, thankfully. She shook her head, putting two Breakers aside. Once the pain subsided, I walked over to her to see what she pulled out. Gebera and Raw Hide were taken out of the bag, leaving Punchline, Overture, and Ragtime inside.

"From what I could see, there's no need for this many" Nico explained, zipping up the satchel then handing it to me. "There's some fast ones out there, slow 'em down then kick their asses"

"Thanks Nico," I half smiled, clipping the bag to the gun holster. Grabbing Red Queen and Blue Rose, I headed out of the van and into the fray. Several demons took notice of my presence, which I welcomed with open arms.

"Sup! Heard you guys were being asshats to this city" I shouted to them. They snarled as I got closer. Acidic drool dripped from their mouths, scratching the floor as they get into a battle stance. "I don't think you guys need to be so mean, or disgusting." I slipped on Ragtime up my arm, wiggling my fingers inside like a glove. The Breaker was cold at first but it quickly adjusted to my body temperature.

"Kick demon ass, Nero!" Nico cheered from her car. The enemies broke into a run towards me, howling ungodly screams. I unleashed Ragtime's special attack, freezing the enemies in place. Ragtime shattered to pieces, leaving me empty handed.

"You guys aren't very nice, you're supposed to greet then kill me" I taunted at their immobility. "Or at least give me an obnoxious monologue of how I'm dumb and you are smart," I charged up Blue Rose and shot the first Empusa straight in the head. The bug-like demon fell backwards, stunned in the process. After slipping on another Breaker, I followed up the attack with Punchline and crushed its thick headed skull. Soon after, Chaos made a followup attack by rolling over to me like a tire rolling down a hill. Quickly, I blocked the attack with Red Queen, stopping the creature from rolling over me. Sparks flew from my blade and its shell as we pushed each other. Once it stopped rolling, it exposed its underside. I charged straight through the enemy's gut, puncturing in the process. I laid down several combos to complete the job until the creature turned to ashes. With the grappling hook of my Breaker, I launched myself on top of the Empusa Queen's back. The large demon tried to fling me off but I clung onto its scaly back. As it horsed around, I charged my sword up and stabbed into the back of the creature. I hopped off the back of it and took a final stringed combo on it, finishing off with a launching attack. As the Empusa Queen flew into the air, it shattered to dust. The remaining demons began to scatter back to the Qliphoth root. The Breaker launched off of my arm and like a rocket, and began heading towards them. Quickly I hopped on before it could get too far and rode it like a skateboard. Repeatedly, the arm weaved around the Riots, Hell Bats, and Hell Juddecca, allowing me to finish up the remains of all of them. I couldn't help myself from laughing, it was way too good to ride that thing. After it combusts, I slipped on Overture and I finished off the remaining demons with a glorious combo. The last demon leaped into the air, about to pounce on me. Without looking, I shot it to death, vanquishing to ashes.

After the adrenaline calmed down, I only realized then I was completely out of breath. Sweat beads down my face while my body tenses up. After I caught my breath, I went over to the source of the problem: the Qliphoth root. Its dark purple roots glistened with pulsating pink-reddish bubbles along the intertwining root. The crux of the root stuck out like a sore thumb as always, a large pulsating red sore-looking sac. I took a few slashes at it until it punctured. It deflated like a pimple, squirting out a bit of blood before it disintegrated. The root itself disintegrated as well, making the roads collapse behind it.

"Whooohoo!" Nico hollered excitedly from the car window. "That was some bona-fide ass-kicking!"

I smiled at her with a big grin. Good thing I brought Ragtime or else I would've gotten hit by an Empusa… again. And be embarrassed for letting a small fry get to me... After letting out a huge yawn, I sheathed my sword and put away the gun, my good trustworthy weapons. I began searching for good chunks of usable material. Ragtime was beyond repair, with pieces being crushed by the enemy feet like glass. Luckily, Punchline still had some salvageable parts that can be reused. It just needed some tinkering and polishing to make it usable for other Nico creations. Or my own creations if Blue Rose or Red Queen take too much of a beating or I have time to tinker. Seeing the Empusas always reminded me of the disgusting form that Angus took on when he "ascended" as a knight… almost like an Empusa with it being like a preying mantis. Quite ironic for a bumbling jackass. After collecting the goods, I headed back to the _Devil May Cry _van and saw Nico talking to someone. Right when they saw me, they quickly wrapped up the conversation, quickly saying, "Thank you so much you two!" then went on their way to elsewhere. I went up to the driver's window of the van, with Nico smiling big.

"Get in the car, Nero," she beamed, rolling up her window. I walked around to the other side and got in the car. The "donations" box was empty once again. Hopefully they'll be more Breakers soon, there wasn't as many on the rack as there was last week. Though the stuff I picked up today wasn't much as last time. After emptying the bag, I unhooked Overture from my arm and put it up on the rack. Then I headed over to the small booth and began cleaning off Red Queen, which was stained with fresh blood. Grabbing the rag that was left on the table earlier, I started wiping down the blade. Nico started up the van, making a nice growl in the engines, then took off. After a couple minutes of silence, I asked Nico "who's the guy that came up to you in the window?"

"Standby," she quickly replied as she made a U-turn. "They were one of the people who called for some help. They also paid us in cash. I know it's supposed to go to the _Devil May Cry _office, we can split it here and see how it goes. Besides it wasn't anything to ride home about. Plus you'll need it for your small branch in Fortuna."

"Sick" I say in response. The blade shined in the light from the windows, free of grim unlike the used-to-be-white rag. I put the blade into the large case, along with Blue Rose, into the shaped case. I unloaded the bullets from the gun, in case of an accident and put a safety lock on it. If I needed to fight at all, I have my Devil Breakers to use. I put back the remaining bullets into the box, then set them back into the pocket next to the gun. Once everything was tidied, I put down the top half of the case and latched the two sides together, sealing it with a lock key.

"Hey Nico," I call out to her.

"Yeah, buttface?" Nico replied, with a bit of a snark in her voice.

Holding back from calling her a name back, I asked "Did you ever wanted to find your biological parents?"

Nico remained silent for a while, slowing down at a speed limit change.

"Sorry if this was a bad time—" I apologized but then immediately cut off by her.

"No, its fine," she said in a serious tone. She kept her eyes straight onto the road, not looking back at me. "I did at some point, found out that my mother died through my half uncle, and that my daddy decided to ditch us for some research opportunity. Found him dead when I was 20, so a couple years back. Though that jackass died like the weak ass he was, which would've been nice to kick his ass."

"He's a lot worse to work with," I muttered, recalling the stuttering fool. Never had there been a day that he left his clipboard and was hunched over muttering some science jumbo. He was there when I awakened my Devil Trigger… at least part of it since I couldn't transform like Dante. "If it helps, he turned into a bug like an Empusa" I joked, only for her to smirk a bit.

"Figured… Fortuna's Order of the Sword had that huge cult with turning knights into demon creatures right?"

"Yeah…" The whole incident was still fresh on my mind even though it's been years since it happened. Couldn't forget the looks on the faces of people that were horrifically mutated due to the experiment going wrong… all for the sake of a damn experiment to "save the world"… more like destroy. Then there was Credo, who I couldn't have saved at all. For days Kyrie wouldn't even talk after the whole thing happened and I told her about Credo… nothing I could've done would've cheered her up.

"But," Nico changed her tone in her voice to a more chirpy southern drawl I know. "Knowing that Dante and you kicked that idiot's ass I'm more than relieved to know he does not exist anymore."

"That's good," I smiled, then lifted the box right side up and pushed it against to the wall. I headed over to where Nico was and sat down in the passenger's seat. Once I buckled up, she drove off, heading off to Fortuna.

A pile of broken bricks forming what used to be a tower laid before us, with dark purple roots wrapping around it. Green Empusas swarmed around the structure, like moths to light. The tower was made of cement bricks, and looked as if it housed something before. I recalled the Temen-ni gru, the tower I once used to gain power. Though this one was smaller than that one, or else we'd encounter more of the building earlier in our journey. Since the root is buried deep within the building, we would have to climb up the tower and find either a weak point or a way to chop it down at the root, without digging it out.

"What do you think, Vergil?" Dante asked, looking at the same ruins as I was.

"Seems to be something that might've come from the human world… or something," I observed, figuring out the best way to go about this. Once a plan formed, I began walking over to the ruins, with Dante tailing me. There's not a single brick that's not either crushed or wrapped with the Qliphoth root. The flying bugs took notice of us and swarmed down to us. Dante switched out his signature guns for a missile launcher. Without even touching my sword, I summoned my hard-light blades. Once they got close enough, I fired at them with my blades, ripping them to shreds before any could touch me. Such feeble scum. Not even worth pulling out my sword. Eventually all were wiped out, with nothing of the dust remaining that showered onto the ground. We headed towards the structure and began looking around in it. We walked through crumbled doorway, stepping over the rubble and into the building itself.

The burgundy tiled floor were coated in a dust from the building, while some furniture like a bookshelf and some chairs were still in tact. The place was in complete disarray, with books scattered onto the ground, tables flipped over or piled with rubble from above. Roots webbed itself along the edges of the walls, acting like ivory on a house. I couldn't help to remember of the time when we were younger, Dante decided to eat some of those leaves. He got horribly sick from it, running over to me with a sickly pale face. Dante went on exclaiming the fence leaves weren't good and warning me against trying them. Ironically at the time, I was just about to read about those ivory and how it can be poisonous. Luckily, our mother saved the poor fool from dying with herbal medicine. In a day or two, he was back to annoying me with his wooden sword whenever I was reading. Now as I recall this, I couldn't help the thought of worry for him. The thought he could have died scared me a bit as a child. Of course that went away when he wouldn't follow our father's footsteps and unlocking his true potential. Maybe it was the worry of losing another person, but I've wanted — and still would like— to kill him. Though back then, something about him dead bothered me…

"There's a bunch of books here, extra virgin olive oil!" Dante shouted, picking up a book or two from the rubble. He waved them to me, then began opening up one of the books.

"How many times did I tell you to not call me that?" I icily snapped at him.

"As many times as you whisked my ass in battle" Dante nonchalantly replied, flipping open a book. Rolling my eyes, I came over to him and peered over to what he was reading. It was a poetry and short story anthology novel. There wasn't any pictures but the word play and how it is printed the page were the pictures themselves. He tossed the book over to me, then picked up another book. I scrambled to catch it, finally securing it with my arms. I scowled at him for mistreating the book, throwing it to me as if it was a ball. He has absolutely no respect for books I do swear. I opened it up and began to scan some of the pages. They were simple stanzas but they painted an entire picture in my head. Some pages had simple drawings, and usually contain less lines compared to other poems. The short stories usually depict of a man journeying through pastures or forests, vaguely discussing his past life. There's no conflict, only the struggles of his past that is personified into the creatures he encounters along the way. The only destination he has in mind is to find home, wherever or whatever that is. Staring at the never-ending—

"There's stuff on Mundus around here" Dante shouted from the upper level, waving a book carelessly. Again. This man knows no end to ways of annoying me.

It breaks my heart to tear away from such an exquisite book. Maybe I will come back for it, just to read it some more. After putting the book down, I begrudgingly walked up the stairs where Dante was. He excitedly came over to me with an embroidered book, flipping open a random page. The writing was slightly illegible due to the cursive, but I was still able to make out certain words… after reading it over twice.

"…_Mundus is great sparing fellow, we'll fight, conquer other places in the underworld, all in a day. We are friends who rivaled to see who was the strongest. He enslaved many of the demons under his command, even convincing the strongest of them all to ally with us. I wouldn't have dared to dream of betraying him unless if we were the only ones left to rule. With myself certainly destroying him in a flash. However, something happened during our travels to the upper world recently, the human world. I'm certain this is just a mere phase but something caught my eye…"_

The book was filled with journal entries that were written like this. Some of the pages were torn out, others were scribbled or written in cursive. It was almost like two people were writing this book.

"Was there a name in this?" I asked Dante, flipping through the book. He shook his head, scratching the back of it. At the end of the book, there was a dried up pressed flower with the words "You left this, see you soon! xoxo". It was written with a flowery cursive, different from the almost chicken-scratch of the previous entries. Deep within me, something felt familiar about this handwriting. I couldn't place a finger on it yet, but it rung something deep within me. I set the book down onto the railing and left it there. As much as I'd love to take it, I didn't have the pocket space for it. Besides, I didn't want to leave my black book behind since I wanted to finish it.

"We could come back here once we finish up the Qliphoth if you wanted," Dante offered.

"It'll be fine," I gritted my teeth and ignored the temptation to bring it along with. This tower will probably be gone by the time we come back. We went up to the lowest part of the root and began to chop it down. Every time I stare at it, I keep thinking back to what happened to me. How I became so desperate to survive, winding up being both weak and all powerful at once. Why did my humanity yearn for me to be whole again? I hated that side of me. It was weak. There wasn't anything worth being it. However… being fully demon was just pure chaos. I couldn't control, nor had a will. Always wanting more power, more destruction, chaos. Is this what our father experienced? How did he become so infatuated with a human if he was this powerful? Once the root crumbled, I slid the sword back into its place and walked out of the ruins. I made a mental note to come back once everything was done, just so I could grab the book and take it with me. I will make room for it. After a few yards of walking, Dante broke the silence that was between us.

"It's kinda funny to see you get so into a book after so long," he says, chuckling a bit. "Makes some sense that V was you in the end. The way you two are attracted to books is like glue where it's hard to pull you away from it. Never have seen you without it."

"I wouldn't say glue, per say" I countered, not looking over to my idiot. More like a curious hole that calls you deep into its mysterious portal to another world. One to escape from the real world until you finish it.

"Well you two are book nerds, that's one thing for sure" he beamed, baring his teeth a bit as he smiled. "I thought he was some kid needing to clear out some demons in an alleyway or something, ha ha!" His smile faded as he spoke the next sentence. "Though I wasn't expecting him to mention you."

I snapped my head towards Dante, with furrowed brows. "What?"

"V vaguely mentioned that Urizen was you." He lowered his voice as he spoke more. "Though I wasn't expecting V to be one half of you and Urizen the other half"

I barely have memories as V or Urizen, since I wasn't fully me anymore at that point. They only had the memories that were associated with them, with V having my human side while Urizen my demonic side. Only snippets of what happened as V or Urizen came to mind, mostly what he expressed to me: powerlessness.

"If you are wanting answers of why my humanity wanted me to be whole outside of crumbling away, you will find nothing" I answered briskly. This only seemed to frustrate Dante more, so I explained more to his simpleton self. "I don't remember being split outside of the beginning and when I was put back together again, so you might as well make your own conclusion. Or would you like me split myself again so you could ask V."

Dante bit his lip, then sighed. "I'd rather not do that and have to go through that again…" he sighed, giving up on finding an answer. "Rather not find you and kill each other over that crap again…"

I was shocked to hear this, especially coming from him. I couldn't believe his words. We've fought for years on end over things, even over the stupidest of things. I fought for my right to gain power, to defeat the greatest villains, to save myself. We did that years and years ago when we were younger, fighting over who's better. Did none of what we fought matter to him? I silenced my gnawing thoughts, pressing forward to other matters that need to be addressed: what was that tower? It reminded me of the Temen ni Gru, only filled with books and was a lot smaller. I turned to Dante, who looked to be in a dark mood. I turned away and didn't bother him with anymore questions about what might that tower have been. A tension rose between us, making it difficult to talk… just like what happened all those years ago when we fought the first time…


	4. Chapter 4: Familia

The drive down to Fortuna was not as bad as I thought it would be, mostly clear roads and some traffic so Nico had to slow down. Every time she'd come to a break, she'd bite her lip and drum her fingers along the wheel. I'm thankful that I don't have to pray that I won't die by some idiot's driving. Or be accused of assisted murder yet. Fortuna is doing better than it was before, allowing new people to move into the town. Great for the economy, and nice to see other small businesses booming as well. There's still some people who wear white hoods over their heads like the cult previously did. As long as they aren't trying to summon anything, I can care less. The city finally installed some phone booths, which will be nice if Morrison has a job for me around the area. Compared to Red Grave, Fortuna was quieter. There's more open markets now, few people walking around on the streets or driving in cars. In the distance, I saw our apartment with the _Devil May Cry _logo above the garage. It still has some hooks in from when I had the light up sign on there, until Nico moved the sign down onto the van. Now it's just a crudely spray painted logo on a brick wall. I've been told many times to make it nicer but until it's unreadable, I'm not changing it. Nico slowed to a stop by the sidewalk by the apartment's front door, putting into park.

"Alright, I'll be down by my old man's place." Nico says letting go of the wheel. "Call if ya ready to go back to kicking demon ass." She pulled out a cigarette and began to light it.

"Thanks" I grinned, hopping out of my seat. Grabbing the handle of my case, I rolled it out of the van and dragged it out of the car. "See you later."

"Yep, smell you later stinky!" Nico snickered, kicking it into gear and bolted into the streets. That woman is a handful sometimes… A few kids bursted out of the door, bringing me back down to earth. One by one, they ran over to me and clung to my legs. All three faces beaming with excitement to see me. Carlos had my left leg, the shortest but filled with energy of the bunch; Kyle on my right, calm but still excited; And the last but not least, Julio with his wavy mop of brown hair trying to squeeze between Carlos and Kyle.

"Nero you came back!" Carlos beamed, his black hair spiked up in all different ways.

"It's been too long!" Kyle chirped, speaking louder than usual.

"Remaaaaaatch!" Julio yelled, shaking my leg.

"It's nice to see you all again," I said, unable to stop smiling. In the distance, Kyrie leaned against the doorframe, giggling to herself. Even though it's been a while since I last went back here, it felt like a month. I tried to shake off the orphans off my legs, but they clung on. Kyrie giggled at my struggle, covering her mouth as she laughed. I nervously laughed, then looked down at all three of them. They grinned mischievously. Of course they're waiting for me to do that. With a smile, I grabbed Julio by his shirt and slung him up on my back. His scream immediately turned into a giggling fit, wrapping his arms and legs around my body to stay on. Kyle and Carlos took each of my leg as I began to walk towards Kyrie.

"They've been missing you a lot lately," Kyrie smiled, holding open the door for me and the boys.

"I can imagine, haha" I beamed. All dispersed off of me once I got to the stairs, running ahead of us. I gave her a small kiss on the lips, then went back to grab my case that I totally didn't forget.

"How's being a traveling devil hunter?" Kyrie asked as she followed me inside.

"Pretty good," I replied, shifting my weight with the case. "How's taking care of the orphans?"

"They're delightful" she smiled, webbing her hands behind her back. "Sometimes a handful, but it's been well otherwise."

"That's always good to hear" I replied. Once we got inside, Julio, Kyle, and Carlos ran around the apartment chasing each other. I forget how noisy they could be when they roughhouse. Though I swear they've gotten louder… Kyrie went over to the kitchen and started up the stove. I brought the weapons down to the garage that was right next to the kitchen. Turning on the light switch, the lights flickered on as I entered the room. The garage has been tidied up last I left it, floor clear of screws and dirt while the work bench was less cluttered than before. I feel bad since Kyrie probably cleaned it up for me, which she didn't have to do at all. Nonetheless, I'm very grateful to have her. I pushed the case against the wall, right next to the workbench. All of my tools were laid out across the table, screws and bolts put in a drawer and my blue prints neatly piled on a corner. She goes above and beyond too much, I swear. I went back into the kitchen, finding Kyrie was over by the small island table, chopping up vegetables for dinner tonight. I hugged her from behind, holding her tight in my arms.

"Thank you for doing the garage," I say warmly, putting my head on her shoulders. "You didn't have to do that, I'm sorry I left it a mess."

She turned her head towards me and smiled. "No need to apologize, I had the boys help me too. Besides, it's nice to come home when things are clean"

I helped prepare the table for dinner, folding napkins and setting utensils on top of them. The first napkin I folded wound up being crumpled, so I had that as mine. It's been a long time since I've prepared a table, let alone folded napkins. However, I want it to be nice for her and the boys since they done so much here. Even if it looks like I've never folded napkins before. I tried to remember what Kyrie taught me a long time ago. It was a simple folding technique and it made it look like flowers. I can still remember Credo trying to take over and finishing things faster than me. Especially when their parents came into the room and I was still on the third plate. I saved the best looking one for Kyrie. Hopefully the boys don't mind that now… or call me out for my terrible folding. Plates and utensils are at least easy to remember, and don't require a lot of brain power. Once it was all set, I combed the apartment to look for the boys. They were, of course, playing with sticks outside. At least it wasn't inside like before and Julio broke a glass of apple juice.

"Hey, dinner's ready!" I called out to them. All three looked up, faces glowing with eagerness, and hustled inside. They flew right past me as they made a mad dash to the dining room.

"Did you guys wash your hands?" I overheard Kyrie asking the boys as I closed the front door. Like a hoard, all three ran to the bathroom. Carlos made it in first, making Julio and Kyle had to wait.

"Oh come on…" Julio whined, walking away from the door. "He always takes a long time in the bathroom…"

"He's too fast…" Kyle complained, leaning against the wall.

I strolled past the disappointed kiddos, and went into the kitchen to wash my hands.

"You know you shouldn't keep doing that or else they'll get the idea too, Nero" Kyrie commented, sitting down at the table.

"They can't reach up here yet, so it's fine" I grinned, wiping my hands off on the hand-towel. She rolled her eyes as she smiled, shaking her head. One by one, they trickled into the dining room, sitting down at the table. We all said grace for the food, then dived in. I don't believe in a god or anything, but I know Kyrie does, even after her parents death. Even though I don't believe in one, I participate for her. The boys talked about their day, asking me a bunch of questions of what it's like being a devil hunter. I told them some of the "riveting" tales that I encountered, getting them all riled up. It wasn't much, just your average battle with no big baddies to mock really. Meanwhile, Kyrie mentioned her progress on the orphanage. Last I heard they were struggling with funding, making me motivated to work harder. Thankfully they finally got the money to rebuild it, through a lot of fundraisers and my work as a devil hunter. People would donate to us food and supplies, but Kyrie would deny any donation like that and redirect them to support the orphanage building. I try to do the best I can to help pay, but most of my work goes towards the rent and groceries. She doesn't mind it, but I wish I could do more.

After dinner, we hung out in the main living area, cleaning dishes and catching up with one another. It almost felt like we're married, though I don't think I'm ready for that. Nor do I think Kyrie is either, though Kyle wishes for it to happen soon. We tucked in the kids into bed, then went into our room. We sleep on separate beds since it didn't feel right to sleep together… at least not yet. I threw off my clothes, exchanging it for looser fitting pajamas. Kyrie took a while in the bathroom as she got ready for bed. I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled off my shoes. These boots should've been gone by now, but somehow they're pulling through even after the Qliphoth incident. Kyrie came out of the bathroom in a nice silk nightgown. Her brunette hair not held back by a ponytail and flowed down her back. She smiled and gestured to the bathroom. I hopped to the bathroom, quickly brushing my teeth, then went back ot the room.

"How does it feel to be home?" she asked, sitting down on her bed.

"Like I never left," I replied, sitting down on my bed.

"Good," she smiled, then rolled into bed with the covers over her shoulders. I turned off the lights and crashed right onto the bed. I shifted to my side, not bothering with the covers at all. Too much work.

* * *

Waves of enemies kept coming in, surrounding all around me in an endless void. They were just weak enemies that fall down after one or two blows to the spine. As I kept on fighting, I felt myself getting out of breath. Why am I out of breath? They're weak! Revving up Red Queen, I slashed through multiple enemies at once. Landing a couple more combos on the bigger guys was no trouble either. After slaying a Nobody, a Bianco Angelo came up from behind and made a nice dent on my shoulder. Wincing in pain, I turned around to try to hit him but the pain prevented me from doing so. Over and over, my sword would miss and the enemy would take a nice hit on me. Why am I getting sluggish? As I questioned my strength, the hoards started getting more aggressive. Several demons clawed at my arms, making deep gashes. You can't back down. Not now you have to push through to survive. Things began to blur as I continued to fight. I can't back down. I can't lose to a stupid enemy like this. My muscles felt like they were on fire as I swung my blade down onto the demon. As I drove my blade into the next enemy, something halted me in my movement. Looking down, I saw my foot stuck in some weird white tentacle thing that looked like grass, dragging me down.

"What the hell?!" I panted. Grabbing my leg, I tried to yank it out but I kept sinking further into the ground. Stronger enemies appeared, taking their shots at my helplessness. Blood trickled down my face, getting into my mouth. Before I knew it, I was completely swallowed into the ground.

Nothing but pitch black darkness surrounded me. There was no ground for me to determine how far I've fallen. Once I reached the ground, my body splashed into the ground. In the shallow water, I saw a reflection of myself. If myself was my Devil Trigger form. Instantly I checked myself to see if I transformed. Thankfully I didn't… though it would be nice if the regeneration powers would kick in right about now. In the endless void, a familiar figure came out of the shadows. Maybe they know what's going on. I tried to quickly get up, but immediately was greeted with pain all over me. Right, that existed. Slowly this time, I pushed myself up from the ground, then walked over to the figure. The figure was a tall man, with his black hair swept to the side, a black vest trench coat covering his tattoos. He supported himself on a silver cane, his black sandals barely in the water to touch his feet.

"V?" I croaked. Quickly I straightened myself up, clearing my throat as I winced in pain. Like usual, he seemed to be unamused. He straightened his posture as well, not leaning against his cane as much.

"It's been a while now, hasn't it?" V quietly spoke.

"Why are you—" I asked before getting cut off.

"Cutting to the chase," V interrupted, holding up a finger to shush me. "There's an evil presence going on in the Underworld."

"When isn't there something going wrong!" I snorted, shaking my head. "My stupid uncle and father are down there probably rupturing something that shouldn't be ruptered!"

V glared at me, annoyed with my tangent. It's not my fault the two idiots dove right into a fray again. V rolled his eyes, then continued, "There's a demon that I've dealt with before, who's growing in power again. Of course, he's out for Sparda blood, which makes us more of a priority for him."

"Who is it?" I asked, stiffening up.

"I don't have time to answer," he quickly cut me off. "I need you to help us. It's only recently I've noticed he's lurking around in the Underworld…"

"Could you stop being so poetic and get to the point already?" I said, scratching the back of my head. V glanced down for a second, then proceeded to stab his cane into my foot.

"What the hell?!" I grabbed my foot, then fell onto the ground. V chuckled at my misery, tapping at my foot.

"That's what you get for not listening," he says shaking his head, smirking. He knelt down to my level into a squatting position. "Look. I don't ask for help, if anything I avoid it. No one helped me until I was weaker than I could possibly imagine. I'm asking you now because you are our only hope of getting us out of here. Besides…" He slowly got up, without using the support of his cane. As he stood up, V began to fade away like he did the first time.

"You wouldn't want family to die now, would you?"

* * *

I startled awake, gasping for air. Taking deep breaths, I calmed down to see I wasn't in the the void anymore. It was just a dream… Kyrie was still asleep, thankfully. I wouldn't want her to be worried about me about some stupid nightmare… Why was V in my dream? He's technically my father, so why is the human side of my father wanting me to go down to Hell? I've seen him more than my father granted, but I never really have dreams with him in it. I don't know anymore… the fact it's V makes it weird because of his relation to my father. As I rolled back into bed, sheets over my shoulders, I thought about the two bozos who are down there right now. Thinking back to the dream and what V said, something doesn't feel right about those two being down there.

* * *

Moving away from the tower, we came across more Qliphoth roots. It seemed we were getting closer to the source, with the roots becoming thicker and appearing more. I remained ahead of Vergil, a first for myself. He sulked behind me, hanging his head low as we marched along. I didn't care, he wants to be alone half of the time. When we reached the next root, there was barely any demons nearby, only a few this time. I dove into the brawl and took them out with King Cerebus while Vergil began weakening the tree root. They were weak punks, barely putting up a fight. Once they were taken care of, I aided Vergil by whipping out Cavalier and sawing the root down. The motorcycle made a huge dent to where a single swipe of a sword can make it fall. Vergil and I slashed it once more with our swords, taking it down. Once it was done, we continued walking in silence and to repeat the action again. One by one they tumbled down, without putting up a fight. After a while, it just became muscle memory where I don't even really need to think about it. When the third root fell down, Vergil sat down onto the ground.

"Let's take a break here, Dante." He quietly spoke, out of breath a bit. I sat down by the remains of the trunk, still withering away. He whipped out his black book and began reading it, just like usual. We didn't speak for a long time, nor even looked at each other. The awkward silence began to nag on me, itching for someone to talk. I can't bear it anymore.

"Hey, look I'm sorry for being an ass earlier," I say, breaking the silence. A relief came over me, finally that horrid silence is over.

"That's a first," he replied, not looking away from his book.

"Well it's gotta start sometime…" I shrugged, shoving my blade into the ground. "I mean it took a kid to stop us from fighting."

Vergil turned the page of his book, not paying any attention. I bit my lip, trying to avoid the temptation to swipe it from him. It'd be nice to know if he cares, just say I forgive. I know we have differences, but after a while it gets bothersome when you can't be forgiven. What's even worse is that he's starting to be like our dad. Always on a mission to fight with the humans, never time to spend with us. The time he realizes things are going shit at home, it's after the fact and never comes back to us in the end. And to see it happen again with Vergil is even worse than what he did. Cause he considers him some legend.

"Do you care about Nero?" I asked him. The one question I've been dying to ask for a while now. I couldn't bring myself to say it before, especially if Nero was around. I knew it'd hurt him if his dick of a father decided not to care. Or worse, be even more against Vergil than he already was.

"What?" Vergil glanced up from his book, slapping it shut. He put the book on his lap as he glared at me.

"I'm just curious, do you care about the kid?"

"Why are you so curious to know?" Vergil snapped, setting his book back into his coat pocket. "You never cared until now so why that, hmm?

"I'm curious to know whether you're going to leave him behind and I'll have to make sure he doesn't try to kill you" I talked back to him, sitting up straight. "I don't want him to be like us where we fight all the time. That's the last thing I'd like for to happen is our entire family just turns against each other."

"Does it matter what he does in the end?" He fumed, getting up from his sitting position. As he began to walk away, he muttered "I have no desire to care about what he does, as long as he and you don't get in my way."

"Stop trying to shove everyone out of your life!" I yelled at him, hopping onto my feet. Vergil stopped in his tracks, his hands instantly gravitating to the Yamato. "Not everyone is going to leave you. At this point, you're just doing it purposefully and blaming others. You're my brother, the last bit of family I have left. Can you please just for once not leave and get yourself killed again?!"

My heart ached as I said the last sentence, frustrating me even more. I could feel my skin become scaly as claws began to form on my hands. Vergil remained there in silence, shoulders slumping down a bit but his hands still gripping the Yamato tightly. _It's already begun, why not just go out and kill him? You know you'd love to tear him into a new one after how he's treating you…_ Shush. I don't need you right now. Besides, it won't matter, he's already mad at me and we'll probably attempt to kill each other like usual. _Who is the stronger man? We need to know who is the best and clearly it is me_… Before I could make the first move, the ground rumbled below our feet, making the both of us unsteady. A large root sprung up from the red soil right in between us. We both flew backwards, unable to catch ourselves and falling flat on our backs.

"Dammit…" I groaned, feeling the back of my head. I looked at my hand to see a little blood spot on my glove and the palm of my hand. I turn to look behind me to see a tiny piece of rock with a similar blood stain. "You are mean" I pouted, pointing at the rock. The root kept growing, barely reaching the sky, like the rest of them. As it rose up from the ground, demons spawned close by it, one even growing right along the tree root. It had spikes all around it, pulsating fleshy look to it as grew more on the root. Small roots with spikes on the end sprung up from the ground as well, remaining close to the source.

"Well well well, look what we have here!" The pimple boasted, crossing its nub arms. It loomed over to me, then turning to Vergil who was still on the ground. With its noseless nose, it took obnoxious sniffs in the air. "Not one Sparda, but two of them! Gahahahaha haaa! Unlike last time where it was just one of ya! Now both of you idiots, bow down to the newest ruler of the Underworld!"

One of… us? I grimaced as I got up onto my feet again. This guy is getting on my nerves already with his boasting. Only I can boast that much! I walked over to Dante, yanking it out of the ground. I began wiping off the grime that coated the tip. Luckily it wasn't at all affected by the root sprouting up from the ground, which was good.

"Hey! Are you not listening me?!" The flesh worm demanded, pointing its nubs at me.

"What's that?" I cupped my ear towards it. "I couldn't hear you. Maybe speak up a little more?"

"BOW DOWN TO THE NEWEST RULER OF THE UNDERWORLD!" the "new ruler" shrilled in a cackle, living in its own world. Sure that's going to happen buddy. If anything, I'd have a better chance and I don't wanna cause it'd stink like Hell. Ignoring the annoying jock worm, I walked over to Vergil, who was still on the ground. I reached out to him, but he swiped my hand away and got up on his own. Even though I'd be mad at him for that, I'll give him a pass. I would've done the same to him.

"I think I remember this guy," Vergil muttered to me, gesturing to the infected tree.

"Really? I feel bad for you," I say apologetically. The fiend grew more angry with the both of us not paying any attention to him. I could swear the fleshy color of his innerads became slowly more red. "I mean look at that thing, it looks like it still thinks it's cool since high school and he's 40 years old."

"Oh so you, Dante?" He smirks as he stares at me while saying that. I scowled at him. I never went to high school or still think I'm cool. I _am_ cool.

"HEY!" The worm roared in frustration, bringing up the spiked roots from the ground. Before it can hit us, we blocked the attacks with our swords and took them down with two hits. "You dare challenge me?! Nidhogg?!" The worm shrieked in anger, spikes came out of its nub arms and three disgusting reject plants came up from the ground, gnashing their teeth. Acidic drool came out of their mouths, burning a hole into the white grass.

"Great job Dante, it brought friends!" Vergil patted me on the back then went full Devil Trigger mode. I threw up my hands, then dove into battle. How is it my fault that it did that? The plant creatures swooped down to me while Vergil leaped over them, leaving it to me. I blocked them from headbutting me, then pulled out Double Kalina Arm and fired a few missiles at them. Meanwhile Vergil is going all out with the head of the pimple, clashing swords and spikes at each other. As I take down the last plant head, I realized something about this guy and his name… It was all too familiar.

"Hey Virgin!" I shouted to Vergil.

"WHAT?!" He growled, literal flames coming out of his horns as he continues to fight.

"I just realized I used his little boogers to get me to you!" I exclaimed, beaming with my eureka moment. The plant snarled, then headed right towards me. Without even looking away, I shot it one last time into its mouth and it withered away. "It would eat up your tree so I can harass you! No wonder it looked familiar!"

"That's great Dante, but could you, I don't know, kill the stupid thing!" he yelled at me, pressing forward at the demon before being blown back. Quickly, I exchanged out the artillery from heavy to stylish, and pulled out Dr. Faust. As I rock my stunning hat, I tossed it onto the enemy, landing perfectly on its puny head. Moonwalking closer to the fight, the hat landed a nice big ol' hit on the big guy, spewing out Red Orbs everywhere. As it howled in pain, Vergil swooped in and cut it off from its main source. Together, we stabbed the enemy into the ground. Without another shrill, the worm demon shriveled up into nothing. The root was still there, which didn't take long to wrap up. Feeling good about myself, I drove up the root with the motorcycle. Vergil stood there, in awe of my awesomeness, as I stabbed Dante into the root, splitting it in half until I got to the top. I nailed the landing with a bow, hearing the applause of a thousand adoring fans in my head. Then Cavalier reached the bottom, still running of course in circles, breaking out of my dream. Totally worth it. The tree withered away, leaving us with nothing to do anymore. I put away Cavalier back into my secret compartment in my coat, and headed over to Vergil. He looked down where the root used to be, scowling at the thing. This sourpuss is too sour… hmm…

"Here" I plopped my hat on Vergil's head. It definitely snapped him out of whatever thoughts he had running through his head.

"What?" he said, puzzled by my niceness.

"You look good in a hat" I beamed, patting him on the back. Vergil reached for the hat, taking it off and smirked.

"It probably has your fleas on it" he snickered, walking away.

"I don't have fleas!" I exclaimed, catching up to him. "Sure I've dealt with demonic dogs, but that's a long time ago!"

"Ahh so they are demonic fleas now… how peculiar…" We both broke into a laugh and headed towards the next destination.


	5. Chapter 5: Patience

Author's note!

This chapter is slightly different since it's taking a break from the boys down in Georgia. This will happen from time to time, but the main plot will mostly follow the perspectives of Nero, Dante, and Vergil. Besides playing around with different characters perspectives is fun XD You could say this is my April Fools prank to you guys XD Not intentional it just happened XD

On the side note, I am praying for y'all out there. Even if you don't believe in anything, I hope it comes to you as me hoping for your safety. These are crazy times and it's even stressing me out these days. I hope these stories give you a bit of ease from the world out there now. Not trying to be sappy or anything, I am truly wishing y'all's safety. I would put this out on Tumblr as well, but I'm currently fasting from social media XDXD If it helps at all, I highly recommend these songs "Legacy" from DMCV; "8:28" and "Messengers" by LeCrae; "Love Shack Trigger" by Triple-Q; "Believer" by Imagine Dragons (the choir version is epic); "Space is Cool" by Markiplier; "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell; Bad Lip Reading songs and "Demon Days" by Gorillaz. These songs are helping me get through this time, either encouraging or just fun songs that make me smile. I'm throwing them out there if someone needs some songs to get their head out of the funk.

Stay safe guys!

ComposerEchoFox

* * *

Everyone woke up late, with myself being the last to wake up. My head felt like it was slammed into a wall. In a way I didn't want to get up, but the smell of food lured me into the kitchen. Kyle, Julio, and Carlos sat happily at the counter, wolfing down on waffles. I swear they could lick the plate off if they wanted to and I wouldn't be surprised. I sat down next to Kyrie and got into my food. Me and her took our time with our food, unlike the kids. If I weren't so tired, I'd have this finished 3 seconds flat. I cut off small pieces of the griddled waffle, still hot from the press. The dream kept circling around in my head, especially the last words that V said. _You wouldn't want family to die now, would you?… _Of course I don't want them to die. If they didn't leave me behind I'd go with them. Though eversince they left, the color red has appearing in my dreams. There's always three glowing red circles in my dreams… then I find myself coated in blood. Maybe it's because of the incident? Or I'm fighting too much? There's blood that gets on me, but I'm taking a break from fighting right now…

"Is something wrong Nero?" Kyrie asked, placing her hand on my shoulder. I snapped out of my thought, then realized that everyone is staring. I shrugged my shoulders let out a small laugh.

"Oh, I'm okay" I flashed a smile, digging into the meal more. "Just thinking that's all" The boys shrugged and continued to lick the plates, as I assumed. Kyrie kept glancing over to me as we continued to eat. If I still continued to eat and maybe finish before the boys, maybe I can slip out of here… Unfortunately that didn't happen. Carlos and Julio chased each other around the house after they finished. Kyrie let them outside eventually and they chased each other out there. Must've been all of the sugar that are making them go bananas. Kyle, on the other hand, slinked out of the kitchen in the midst of the hyped up Carlos and Julio. He didn't look too well but maybe he was just tired or too much sugar for him. I was just about to get up until Kyrie sat back down beside me, locking me into place. Dammit, I should've went when she was taking care of the two.

"Now that the boys are gone," she began, picking up the plates. "What is bothering you?"

There's many things wrong with me, I'm a quarter demon and my father is a complete douchebag. I wanted to say. Of course I can't say that to her. Especially the swearing, I've had enough thwacking from rulers as a kid… "Just didn't sleep well…"

"Did you have a nightmare?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Her brows knitted into a worried look, making me feel worried as well.

"I dunno…" I shrugged it off, trying to make her less worried. "I've had similar dreams before so it's not that big of a deal—"

"Do you want to talk about it?" My body tensed up as those words left her mouth. Everything paused in my head, as if someone just punched me in the gut. My head felt numb and void of thought. I gotta get out of this conversation. I can't tell her. Not now, I can't.

"No I'll be okay" I forced a smile, standing up from the table. It made me feel disgusted on the inside telling her that. But I can't say "I dreamt of half of my dad telling me to tell me to go get them" and have a feeling to do that. We just got our lives back to normal, the orphanage is almost complete thanks to the jobs I've been getting. I don't want to break her heart by saying I'm going down to Hell to find Dante and Vergil. It'd worry her sick if not worse since I wouldn't be able to contact her. I still feel bad for not telling her about leaving to fight Urizen. Kyrie cocked an eyebrow, not believing in my half-assed smile. I hate how she can see through me… if I lied to Nico she'd totally believe me.

"I don't believe you" she said crossing her arms. "I think you're hiding something."

"Kyrie—"

"I'm here for you, why can't you tell me what is wrong?!" She raised her voice, pressuring me even more.

"What if I just don't know what is wrong!" I yelled, clasping my mouth shut with my hand. The feeling of someone choking me faded away, but the horrible nauseous feeling gotten worse. My face flushed red, ears piping hot. We've never gotten this mad at each other, nor has she gotten so pushy to know what's wrong with me. Kyrie stared at me with widened eyes, shocked at my outburst. "Kyrie, I'm so sorry" I apologized reaching out to her. She pulled away, avoided looking at me. Why do I get so stupidly mad easily. She pursed her lips, biting the edge of them. You really screwed up now didn't you. Nice going Nero.

"It's fine…" she whimpered, trying to hold it together but I could see her eyes watering. "I'm sorry I gotta go." Kyrie stood up from her seat and quietly left the room. The door shut behind her, turning the knob to make her exit more silent.

"Dammit!" I muttered to myself, putting my hands up to my face. I sinked into my chair, digging my fingers deep into my scalp. I couldn't believe that I yelled at her… Why can't you just calmly say "I don't think I can talk about it right now"? Though she was kinda pressuring me to say something… and I panicked as a result. But still... I sighed, running my hands through my hair. Kicking out of my chair, I stormed into the garage to calm myself. I went over to the workbench, pulling out my latest blade project. It was a Durandal sword, one of the Order of the Sword's blades. After the scavenger hunt with Nico a while back, I picked up parts of the blades and fused them back together. While I doubt Red Queen will conk out anytime soon, it's relaxing to tinker around with the remains of it. The blade was dulled and chipped, took a beating before I could find it. But the rest was clean and had minimal rust. The engine, however, was a piece of work to deal with. The horsepower behind it was weak, and if you revved it up at all it explode on your arm. Plus there was some parts that needed to be replaced like the muffler. Grabbing the toolbox, I began to work on it some more. As I worked, my hand kept shaking. Taking a deep breaths, I'd keep trying but the damn screw driver won't go in the damn—

"SHIT!" I yelped, realizing that I stabbed my hand. Luckily it wasn't hard enough to where I'll bleed, but it hurts like hell. I set down the driver and tried to shake off the pain.

"Hey" a voice said behind me. I jumped a little, quickly turning around to see Kyle by the entrance. How long has he been there? I hope he didn't hear me swear…

"Oh, it's just you" I chuckled, grabbing my chest. My heart pounded against my chest, wanting to break out of there. Lovely to know he scared me half to death. "For a second I thought you were Kyrie, haha"

Kyle shook his head, then slinked into the garage more. He leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms. "I heard you had a nightmare."

"Who told you that?!" I urgently replied, grabbing the table. Kyle shrugged his shoulders, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Overheard?" he muttered in a quiet voice. If it weren't possible for him to get even more quiet, he achieved. I let go of the table, in an attempt to be more calm. Or at least appear more calm so he isn't afraid of me anymore. He kicked some dirt away, hanging his head low. "I have nightmares too, sometimes they keep me up at night… But then I go to Kyrie and she'd help me go back to sleep…"

"She's really good at that…" I commented, rubbing the back of my head. When she's not trying to push you to say something. There was a long pause between the both of us, making things awkward. "I'll go talk to her okay?"

"Okay." Kyle ran up the wooden stairs, going back to the kitchen area. Of course that's why he was down here. I hope he wasn't bothered with the whole thing… With a sigh, I stopped working on the blade and got off my stool. Coming back to the kitchen, Julio and Kyrie were doing the dishes by the sink. Kyrie was teaching him how to clean the dishes… without breaking any. He'd try to sneak his own way that involves throwing them in the air. . In a gentle passive aggressive way, she'd correct him. Thank god she doesn't see me doing the dishes, I just rinse them off. It's clean when there's nothing on it right? Plus hot water is good for killing bacteria. Kyle was on a chair in the living room, reading a book. I went over to the kitchen area, hoping she doesn't notice me yet. What if she's still mad at me? Should I still go over to her still? With all of my hesitation stopping me from saying anything, Kyrie turned around to see me.

"Oh, hi Nero" she said, surprised by my appearance. She paused wiping down a pan, with Julio turning around to see me.

"H-hi" I stammered, feeling my body tensing up again. "I just… I just want to apologize for earlier." I scratched the back of my head, digging my nails deep into my scalp. "I didn't mean to yell or anything, I just couldn't… breath you know?"

Kyrie stood there with her arms crossed, expressionless. Meanwhile, Julio continued working on the dishes. I bit my lip as thoughts ran through my head faster than I could pay attention to. Mustering up the courage, I took a deep breath to say, "I'm sorry for earlier. I hope you can forgive me for earlier."

Finally it's out of my system. Now time to see if she will forgive me. She remained standing there, staring me dead in the eyes. As my anxiety began to work up, I asked her again "Do you forgive me?" I would've screamed this but I needed to resist the stupidity of my anxious self.

"Julio this is what you don't do when you apologize to someone" Kyrie finally spoke, turning to Julio.

"Oh okay!" Julio happily said, finishing up wiping down the last dish. "Can I go play now?"

"After you apologize to Carlos you can," she responded warmly. Immediately, Julio sprang to life and ran out of the kitchen. She smiled to me, laughing a little. Though it still begs the question if she isn't mad at me anymore.

"So… um do you accept my apology?" I quietly asked again. Without breaking eye contact with me, she stepped over to me. She landed a soft kiss on my cheek, then asked me, "Does that answer it?"

My ears flushed red, making me smile giddily without me realizing it. "I don't know, maybe you'll have to tell me again" I quietly spoke, wrapping my arms around her. She wrapped hers around mine, pulling each other closer. Right when we were about to kiss again—

"Ewwww" Carlos and Julio said in unison, standing at the doorway of the hallway. They made vomiting sounds, snickering among themselves how gross we are together.

"Did you guys realize you left the water running outside?" I asked the two mischievous boys. With widened eyes and a turn of their heads, they hurried out the front door. Me and Kyrie both snickered to each other as they ran out the door.

"I didn't hear the water running though?" she said, puzzled.

"It isn't" I smiled, holding her closer to me. I lightly stroked her long brunette hair down her back. My hand effortlessly went down along her hair, like touching silk. Her head rested into my shoulder, happily nestled.

"I'm sorry Nero… I'm just worried for you," she apologized, gripping me tighter.

"I know," I kissed her again, hugging her tighter. Before we could delve into this beautiful moment any further—

"JULIO! THE WATER!"

The moment came to an immediate halt. Water from the kitchen sink began to drip, as the hose outside ran. Even though I didn't see it, I could feel water going around my bare feet. It must've started a lot earlier cause it'd take a while before it can flood. As I began to let go of her, Kyrie held onto me more, not loosening her grip.

"We should take care of them…" I told her, looking down.

"It can wait…" she pouted, not letting go. I didn't want to let go either, but I don't want to get in trouble again. Pulling away from her more, she clung onto me tighter. We broke into a laugh as she slid down midway my back. Eventually she let go of me and we both walked outside through the back door. Outside was a muddy mess: Julio and Carlos had blotches of mud all over them as water sprayed everywhere. Both of them wrestled with the hose, strangling it almost. Water trailed down the steps into the backdoor. So that's how the water went into the kitchen so quickly. We both stood there with widened eyes. Though internally I knew it wasn't as bad as it could be. As they continued to fight, they were completely ignorant of us standing there watching them.

"HEY!" I shouted at them. The two boys immediately stopped wrestling with the hose, staring at us like deer in headlights. Julio, drenched in water with mud caking his shoes while Carlos stood with the hose pouring water down his shirt and soaking his used to be white clean socks. Carlos let go of the hose and pointed at Julio.

"He wouldn't let go of the hose" Carlos pointed. Julio threw up his hands, letting go of the hose as well. With a sigh, I picked up the two nincompoops by their hips.

"Come on, you two need to clean up," I say as I carried them back to the apartment.

"But it's not my fault!" they both whined, trying to wiggle out of my arms. They kept complaining until I dragged them into the bathroom. Gently, I set them down in the tub. "But Nerooo!" they say in unison.

"I don't care. You two made a huge mess, I don't want to see you until you are clean. Okay?" I sternly told them. The two nodded, looking sorry for themselves as I closed the door on them. After taking care of the kids, I went over to help out Kyrie with cleaning up the mess they made. Compared to the other adventures of those two, this was the least messiest. One time they tried to make a volcano dessert thing where it involved baking soda, toothpaste, soda, and a sock. I don't know how all of those worked together to create a sticky mess, but it did. The mess coated the entire living room, making it sticky wherever you stepped. It took about a month to get it out of the floor, though you could still get some sticky spots. As we headed back inside, I thought about the dreams and finally came down to a decision. "Hey Kyrie, I'll be heading over to Nico's sometime soon"

She turned to me, the bright smile leaving her face. "You going to leave so soon?" she asked, quickly fading into a sorrowful look.

"No, I'm just going to visit. I should be back by the evening" I smiled. I hope it doesn't take any longer than an evening. As much as I love her, I can't tell her about the dream or my plan. It'll worry her so much to where she gets sick… literally. Maybe Nico could help me, I know that she's always up for adventures. If she can help me get down to Hell, then I have achieved part of the goal of finding Dante and Vergil. Hopefully it's not like what the textbooks said where it's just constant boiling lava… though if Vergil went down there several times, it's gotta be somewhat appealing. I don't look forward to smelling like demons when I get back though. I gave her a reassuring smile. "Trust me, it will be okay."

She took a deep breath in, then sighed "Okay, just call me when you're coming back okay?"

I kissed her on the forehead and warmly told her "I promise I will call you."

Kyrie leaned into me for a hug. I hugged her tightly around her waist as she did the same to me. She pressed her head into my shoulder, shifting her hands to go up to my back. I knew this was hard for her to hear since I just got back. However, if the dreams will stop when I find Dante and Vergil, then I will find them. Then everything will go back to normal.

—

The roads down in Heppin were decorated with cracks, making for a bumpy ride. Luckily, Nero ain't here to bug me about how I should slow down. It's not like I'm going to pop a tire anytime soon, how else did I make it through the Qliphoth? Once I saw Rock's Shop, I pulled over to a screeching stop, landing the parallel parking perfectly. Not a dent or a scratch on the ol' girl. Can't say for the other cars though. Maybe a scratch or two… hopefully not a dent to notice. I popped a pack of ciggs into my pocket along with my lighter then I leaped out of the car. I slammed the door shut, locking her up tight. The van rattled from the impact, making things jingle inside. While it did concern me a bit about the Devil Breakers, it should be fine. Plus if Nero's stuff breaks, it's his damn fault for not cleaning up after himself. I do swear Sparda men are hellishly messy somehow. How Kyrie puts up with him is beyond me. People stared at me as I walked into the shop, which is typical. Probably new guys who've never seen me before. As long as they can stay the hell away if I'm on the roads, we won't have a problem.

Opening the door, a bell chimed throughout the store. A few heads turned my way, then back to gazing at the work of art. The store was filled with guns decoring the walls, mechanical parts in a glass case displayed for sale with price tags. Panels of wood lined the walls behind the guns, complimenting the gun's dark and silvery beauty. My favorite was still up, Nell's signature guns Lucem and Tenebrae. Nothing can compare to her artisan work. Someday I will be in the ranks of her craftsmanship. It's a journey in the making though, still have a long ways to go before I get to her standards. A rugged black haired man came through the back door, carrying out a refurbished pistol. He went over to the customer at the counter, shining up the finished product as he walks before he handing it to her.

"All good to go" he presented the gun to the customer. The man took notice of me and smiled. I waved to him as I flocked over to him. Hurriedly he finished up business with the woman and then turned his attention over to me. "Hey Nicolette," Rock said in a quiet southern drawl. A vague smile came across his face, which is one of the few times Rock's ever smiled. He's a quiet fellow, like his name. He wore his usual brown leather apron, greasy matted black hair with his glasses almost always fogged up, tan shirt and black jean combo that I've never seen him without.

"Howdy Rock" I greeted, giving him a big ol' hug. Unlike his name, he's a squishy fellow who doesn't always look like it. He may be thin but he is a fluffy kitty at times. After I let go, Rock readjusted his thick black rimmed glasses up to his face again. "How do you do?" I say, leaning against the counter.

Rock shrugged "Same old, how have you been holding up?"

"Took care of a nasty weed problem," I flexed on him, cracking some knuckles. "Helped out Nero in the process."

"Ah, I've heard about those. Haven't seen that much of those 'round these parts"

"The asshole's doing well, kicking demon ass like usual" I beamed, pulling out a pack of ciggs and a lighter. Rock brightened up as he saw me pull them out, putting out his hand for one. I helped out my old man by lighting his first, then mine. Inhaling the cigg into me, I let out a nice stream of smoke along with my pop. All of the week's stresses left me as the toxins seeped into me. I've been holding out on this one for a while cause I respect Kyrie too much to deal with that torch-blower. Rather not get her the idea that he's smoking now. He's too much of a wuss to do so even. As we enjoyed our smoke, people trickled out of the shop, grumbling about the smoke. "Sorry 'bout that, Rock…" I muttered apologetically.

"Meh, was about to close up shop anyways…" Rock grumbled. He went over to the shop door and flipped over the sign and locked it up. "Come on, let's go upstairs and chat." I followed up Rock up the stairs in the back, turning off the lights as I left. We sat around the table island that divided the living room and the kitchen. It was clean for the most part, besides a few beer bottles accidentally left behind.

"I thought you didn't drink?" I motioned to the bottle.

"Only occasions, keep it around for guests," he replied, throwing away the bottles. "Well, the guests bring them and never take it back with them."

"Ahh, no wonder you got crap around here," I commented, putting out my cig into the ashtray. Rock went around the counter and sat on the stool on the opposite side of me. He caught me up on his events, mostly selling his guns and pawning off parts for other people. Several devil hunters came and went in his shop, none very notable but discounted the ones that got rid of the bugs around Heppin. It felt like the old days where we'd share our customer tales and horror stories in the shop. One of his tales was about how one worker left dramatically last week, but they were an asshole and no one cared for him. "Sounds like an ordinary Rock day," I joked, snickering to myself.

"It was usual," he quietly chuckled, finishing up his cig before putting it out. "How's working for a Sparda?"

"He's a big ol' asshole as usual" I smirked, thinking about our times together. "Though he's simmered down a lot since the Qliphoth incident in Red Grave. Eversince he found out about his daddy, he's been stressed about something but dunno what… but business is doing well, Nero kicking demon ass _ass_ per usual!"

Rock rolled his eyes as he took a sip of water that was around. "Sounds like you guys are doing well"

"Pretty much honestly," I chirped up, resting my head on my hands. "He's home with the girlfriend and orphans"

"They ain't married yet?" Rock asked, scratching the back of his neck. He took a big yawn then replied "At this point might as well…"

"Probs wanting for things to blow over before doing that" I fiddled around with a nearby pencil, weaving it in and out of my fingers as we talked. There was a pause before Rock replied, his eyes locked onto the glass.

"You thinkin' he might go after the two?" he muttered, looking at the nearly empty glass.

"He wouldn't go after them," I immediately reply. "If he were to it'd be stupid of him…" I know Nero enough to where he wouldn't go after them. Especially after promising his girl that he'd remain in the human world, there's a slim chance he'd go after. Plus, as far I know he'd need some sort of portal to get down there. Or his old monster arm that made a portal a long time ago.

Rock scratched his prickly five 'clock shadow, then replied "I told you the same thing when you went off to find that piece of work…"

"At least I know now and don't have to stress over it," I defensively said, crossing my arms. "I don't care for that son of a bitch anymore…" The vile in my stomach grew again, making me feel even nastier than earlier. Why can't I just not get so mad about him anymore? I should be fine knowing he's dead and I got his notes from his research, which ain't too bad. Although, they got to be disturbing sometimes… makes me wonder how did Nero not see any of that happening all those years ago…

"I don't mean to get you fiesty or anything," Rock calmly told me motioning his hands. He leaned his head back and groaned. "Your mother was quite a lot like you, like a lighter she'll kick into a fight. Literally. Broke a nose once 'cause of her actually."

"Serves you right for messing with her" I smugly replied, relaxing my arms a bit.

"I think it was over the tv remote or something… But anyways," he leaned forward and got up from the stool. "You take care of yourself 'aight?" Rock put his large calloused hand on my shoulder and looked me into the eyes. "No reckless driving" He pointed at me as he spoke.

"If roadkill happens, it's free dinner" I grinned, getting up to his face. He made a long sigh as he shook his head.

"Just don't kill people…" Rock grumbled as he walked away.

"I almost killed a chicken!" I beamed with joy, shouting to the other end of the room. Rock kept walking, ignoring my near-triumphant victory. I wonder how I was like my ma, outside of my reckless stubbornness. Or even how her and Anus got together and lead to me and asshole leaving… One thing I know for sure is that I don't want it to happen for Nero.


	6. Chapter 6: Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

So I found out that the arm arsenal thingy was in game (which is like so cool to put that detail in there)... let's say this is an alt universe where he broke it after the Qliphoth incident and Nico's still repairing it. Stay safe my dudes, you can make it through this quarantine :)

* * *

Saying goodbye is easy when it's only one person. It's hard when it's someone you love, but it takes a minute or two and then you're off. With kids (that aren't even yours), however, it takes few days plus an arm wrestling match. They should be thankful that I went easy on them this time, cause I was really tempted to crush their hopes again. Before anyone could get up, I prepped for the journey ahead. While I don't think I'll be gone too long, I stashed some extra Devil Breakers just in case. Once I finished packing, I knocked on the boy's rooms to wake them up. All but Kyrie came out in their pajamas, hair mangled in all directions. Kyrie was the only one who was ready for her day, wearing her usual cream wool sweater and long maroon skirt.

Technically I should be going back to work now. But since Nico is out as well, we are are technically on different weekend times which technically means longer weekend break. Plus Trish doesn't care unless if Lady harasses or the electricity is out again. Which has happened less since Trish took over Dante's position as payroll person. As I walked out the door, I felt something weighing me down on my back. Looking behind me, I saw a giggling Carlos clinging onto my back. With a smile, I plucked him off of my back and set him down onto the ground. Julio and Kyle ran up beside him, looking up to me. Like before, Kyrie stood in between the doorframe at the entrance with her hands running through her long brunette hair. I ran back over to her to give her one last hug. She wrapped herself around me as I did to her. Only this time I wished it could be longer. We kissed each other goodbye, then I walked towards the road. Before I stepped out onto the sidewalk, something tugged at my leg. Turning around, I saw Carlos holding on. He was the youngest of the group, being only 4 years old while the others were 6 and 7. Makes it easy for him to hop onto me since he's so light.

"Promise you'll be back soon…" Carlos pleaded, letting go of my pant leg. I knelt down to him and ruffled his black hair, making it more messy than it already was.

"I promise, Carlos," I replied sincerely. His face brightened up, then he went over to the rest of the kids to eagerly wave goodbye to me. I've never failed to keep a promise, nor do I ever want to with these kids. I caught a glimpse of Kyrie waving goodbye, clutching tight to her waving elbow. This will all be over soon, I promise Kyrie. And then, you won't have to worry anymore.

—

The streets of Heppin was slightly busier than I last remembered. More people, especially in their 20s-30s, can be seen everywhere. No signs of a demon invasion were to be seen around here. Every once in a while, a Devil Hunter would walk by with several weapons on their back. They tend to always stand out of the crowd, dressing in protective gear or multiple layers of clothing made of sturdy material. Most of the colors they wore blended into the city, others took a fashion approach. I stuck with my usual clothes of red shirt, blue trenchcoat and some nice combat boots. Nothing fancy or gaudy, unlike some who think wearing glass heels and nothing else is good. But who knows, maybe that's their weapon. I didn't expect Trish to fight until she kicked my ass when I said that out loud to her upon meeting her. How was I supposed to know that she was a demon!

After wandering the streets, I found the _Devil May Cry_ van parked outside a small shop. Cars that are parked between the van took a small beating. Of course she'd bump into others. The shop's sign hung above the door, proclaiming"Rock's Gunshop". Not the most creative title but at least its blunt about what it is. As I walked into the store, a bell chimed throughout the store. No one paid any mind to the bell, continuing to window-shop. A black haired man popped up behind the counter and greeted me "Welcome to the shop, sir." His monotonous voice sounded as cheery as Trish answering the phone. As I went over to him, his face brightened up. "Ah, Nero isn't it?" he asked, sticking out his hand.

"Yep," I answered, shaking his hand. "Good to see you Rock."

"Good to see you too." Once he let go of my hand, he turned around towards the back door and shouted "Nico, Nero's here!"

Right on cue, Nico bursted through the back door full of energy. She had her mustard yellow apron on along with tan gloves that look like they fit a giant's hand. She claims it's her size, but I question if it really is. "Hey buttface!" she beamed, slapping the glass counter. And she's the one I'm going to be asking about going down to Hell for. God help me if she comes with me. She hopped over the counter and gave me a tight hug. Her tools dug into my stomach, making it an uncomfortable hug. Once she let go, she beamed, "What're ya doin' here man!"

"Just coming to visit, you know," I scratched the back of my head, with a weary smile. I tried to not show the amount of awkward pain that I have with the tools digging into me. She motioned me to go to the back door. I followed her to the back, going up to the upper portion of the store aka the apartment portion. It was well kept place with a living area, small kitchen and a hallway leading to some rooms in the back. Quite similar to our apartment's layout, though we have a few more rooms plus garage space right next door to it. Nico offered a seat on the couch as she sat on a maroon colored armchair.

"I thought I was going to pick ya up tomorrow?" Nico questioned, leaning forward in her seat.

"We're still up for that" I answered, reassuring her. "I just have a question for you—"

"How you and Kyrie are still a thing?" she chirped, resting her head on her hands. I frowned at her remark. I'm more than happy to be with her, we've been friends and maybe in love for years. She was the only one who talked to me as a kid… all the others called me the bastard kid.

"No," I cleared my throat, then continued. "I've had something on my mind lately, and I was wanting to ask you of something."

Her playful smile faded, raising her eyebrow. "What do you need?" she lowered her voice into a more serious tone.

"I'm going down to Hell to find Dante and Vergil, will you come with me?" I asked. The tightness in my chest finally disappeared, allowing for me to breath. However the sickening feeling still churned in my stomach. Especially with the look she's giving me now. Nico adjusted her glasses and crossed her legs.

"You sure you didn't take a swig of Julio's science project again?" she half-joked.

"I didn't! I swear!" I barked at her, feeling pressured. It was only one time and it looked similar to my drink. Good thing I had it or else he'd be accidentally giving out acid trips to people. At least it wasn't lethal, I only had a small cup. Exhaling, I calmly replied "I'm not trying to pull your leg, I'm serious about this Nico. I'm leaving tonight."

"Serious? You sound like you're batshit crazy right about now!" she roared. Nico pulled out her cigarettes and lighter. She lit her cigg and inhaled it in. "What gave you that idea?!"

"I'm not crazy!" I exclaimed, then recollected myself. Waving off the smoke in the room, I continued. "I've had these dreams of going after them. Normally I've shrugged it off but it's gotten worse, one with V telling me I need to find them or else they'll die. I'm not going to let these idiots die from a stupid tree or the red three balls thing. It's driving me insane."

She paused putting away the rest of her cigarettes in her pocket, then exhaled a puff of smoke. "Mr. Shakespeare man, whose half of your daddy, told you your daddy's gonna die along with the legendary Dante?" I slowly nodded, unsure of where she was going with it. "Dear lord you are one helluva crazy son of a bitch"

"So you don't believe me?" I gritted my teeth, clenching the wooden table. "I'm not lying why would I lie about this?!"

"I'm not sayin' you are lying—!"

"Then why do you think I shouldn't go?!"

"This is what happened to me all those years ago!" she yelled, taking the cigg out of her mouth. "I know what you are up to. You going after daddy cause you are worried about him or think he wants you. He wouldn't if he left you for dead on the streets!" She sighed, crushing her cigg in the ashtray. In a quiet mutter, she continued "I just don't want see you like me when I searched for him. That bastard just straight up left without a care, not even acknowledging that I told him I was his damn daughter. Please don't be stupid and go after them."

A sinking feeling pitted at my stomach lowered me into the couch. Relaxing my grip on the table, I rested my hands on my knees. There was a feeling that she'd not want me to go, but I hoped for the later. After so long, there's nothing that's changing my mind at this point. I don't care if I'm pushed away again, I'm going to help them. I stood up from the couch, and answered, "Family is important to me Nico… it's going to take a hell of a lot to get me separated from them. Even if they're the stupidest idiots on earth" I muttered, then began heading downstairs. "I'll see you, Nico."

"Hey where are you going jackass!" she barked, getting up from her seat. "HEY!" I stormed out of the room, out the door and back into the streets. As I stepped out of the shop, the sun has already begun to set on the horizon. _I'll be back by the evening_… I hope I can keep that promise.

—

Our journey to the tree was nearly finished. The trunk of the tree was only several miles ahead, just a few more stops before we can reach it. Of course it was swarmed by the biggest of fiends and stronger enemies like the Nobodies. Dante swung around his ice-coated nunchucks as we walked, somehow not sticking to his hands. Occasionally I could hear his stomach growl, thankfully he hasn't complained about food yet. Since I certainly do not need to think about that in a place where it's either eating the carcasses or die off. And eating weaker demons does not make you stronger, nor does it give you energy. As we drew closer to the tree, I began to think about how it saddens me to see it shriveled away. However in the end though, it never satisfied.

When we sat down, Dante leaned up against a rock gazing at a magazine while I sat crosslegged on the ground on the opposite side of him. Hunched over, he gawked at all the scantly clad ladies, the pervert. I respect women, unlike the disgusting scum. I continued to journal my entries in the black leather book. Writing has been more of the peaceful times in this horrendous journey with him. Ink sprawling out words, the motion of my hand writing feels more freeing than gripping the Yamato. I etched out some of my surroundings on occasion, taking notes on enemies. Some of the entries included dreams, mother always told me if I had one it helps to write it out. A lot of recent entries involve the time with Mundus or my mother getting killed. Sometimes it's of the times as my human form which had some nice moments in it. Must be due to getting closer, it brings out the worst of thoughts. Looking up from my book I saw that Dante was already snoring with his magazine covering his face. That foolish scum, I believe he used to do that with some of the picture books we'd have as kids even. Closing the book, I uncrossed my legs and rested against the other side of the rock. Staring up at the grey-ish blue sky, I eventually lulled myself to sleep.

—

"Lowly mortal, you cannot face me. Let alone know how to wield a sword!" a voice bellowed, roaring with laughter.

A heavy force pushed me to the ground, unable to get up from the puddle of my own blood. It stunk like rotting flesh, burning my nostrils. I tried to get up again but I collapsed to the ground. Violently I coughed up blood, adding more to the puddle. I cannot lose… not yet. Gritting my teeth, I reached over to the Yamato. It was so close to me, an arms-length away. However the more I stretched over to it, the more it felt like my arm was going to be ripped off. Just a little bit more… Barely grabbing the yellow ribbon, I pulled it to me and used it to raise myself up. Every muscle in my body screamed in pain as I stood up. No problem, I have been through worse pain. All of this will come to fruition… To be better… than Sparda. My legs began to wobble so I instinctively used my sword for support. His laugh echoed throughout the endless void, drumming against my body. He doesn't deserve, to even have such a form as this.

"I am not done yet…" My voice barely made a sound as I spoke. With all of my strength, I charged at the demon. Before I could hit him, a force threw me off making me fly in the air. The Yamato fell out of my hand, parting from me once more. Tumbling to the ground, I tried to slow myself down enough to be closer to the blade.

"You don't even have the strength to hit me anymore!" the fiend cackled. A root stabbed right through my stomach, halting me from doing anything. I screamed in pain as more began to wrap around me. It lifted me off of my feet, raising me up to the eyesights of the scum. It adorned itself in a marble statue look, with refined etchings that resembled a face and wings. With all that I can muster in the moment, I spat on it… only for it to land on the rocks. The sickening chiseled face and "perfect" looking human form, parading itself as it's better than me. In reality, it was a pile of pulsating flesh that slithers around. To hide itself, it makes itself into a statue. However, it doesn't hide the three hideous eyes. "It disgusts me to think that Sparda made a hybrid, spoiling his blood by mating with a measly human" Mundus spat, stroking his stone-like beard. "At least it proves that not even a Sparda spawn can kill me!"

"Just you… wait…" I coughed, feeling my arms being slowly ripped out of my body from the roots. More roots dug deeper into my body, entangling itself with the ones stretching my arms. "I will be better than you, and Sparda!" I screamed to him, scratching my throat. In a futile attempt I tried to reach for my blade again. I don't care, if I can make some sort of portal out of here I can come back with more strength. Grabbing hold of it, I began to cut myself out of the entangled mess I was in.

Mundus roared with laughter, raising the roots to wrap around my legs. The roots regenerated and stabbed through my chest, though I still kept hold of the Yamato with a death grip. Once he settled, he bellowed "What a pity, a lowly human is trying to fight me?! It couldn't even defeat its own sibling or myself!" He lowered himself closer to me. His stench became more pungent as he leaned in closer. With a snap of his fingers, he sliced the Yamato in fourths, crushing any hope of leaving. The last of what my father left us… gone. "What kind of weak mortal would dare to strike me? A foolish offspring that not just tainted the Sparda line, but fused it with humans who are grass to be stepped on. I will sniff out the rest of you mortals and strike down, just like I did with Eva."

—

Startled awake, I woke up with my heart pounding against my chest. Quickly glancing around, I sighed in relief. I'm not in the dream anymore, Dante's sound asleep right across from me. Putting my book back into my pocket, I noticed my hand shook feverishly. Any movement I made with it, my hand wouldn't stop shaking. Sleeping will not help me anymore. I need to cut down that damn tree. My nightmares will leave if I take it down. Getting up, I began walking to the trunk of the Qliphoth tree. It'll all be over when it's gone—

"Leaving so soon?" Dante called out, stopping me cold in my tracks. He took off his magazine and looked at me with a dead expression. "I thought you would've left a long time ago actually."

"What do you mean?" I gritted through my teeth. "Besides, weren't you asleep?"

"How do you think I avoid phone calls?" Dante got up from the ground, putting his magazine in his back pocket. "You can't help wanting that power still can you?"

Pursing my lips, I gripped the Yamato even more. The urge to cut hit him down right now to shut him up is very tempting. "Does it matter in the end? We are still going to cut it down. I'd like to get it done quicker."

"I think you still want that fruit," Dante snapped. "All you want is power right?! Why not just admit it? We all know it's true."

"There's no point in trying it again. Besides since you're here, you'll ruin my plans! Besides it needs an influx of human and demon blood and I'm not wanting to go through that again."

"Why not just kill me then!" he exasperated, throwing his hands up in the air. "You always go after whoever has power. Since I keep beating you now why not just kill me! Or would you like to kill Nero since that wouldn't make a difference?"

"I'm not going to kill anyone! If anything you've killed me before!" I barked, whipping my sword out. "If it wasn't for me, you'd wreck the house with your chaos! You are an uncontrollable monster!"

"Damn you!" he grabbed his sword, eager to attempt to rip me into a new one. He got into a battle position, pointing his sword at me. Unsheathing my blade, I get into a battle stance. Charging at each other, we take our first hit at one another and—

"Every time! Could you two shut the hell up!"

An impecable force stopped us from clashing swords. Like a lightening bolt, it struck between us. White long hair, horns that curve inward with feather like texture, long claw like nails that barely scratched our swords, glaring golden eyes.

"The hell you idiots doing?!" Nero roared in a distorted voice. He pushed us away as he reverted back to his human self. Like before, he scowled at our bonding time. Our previous bickering was put on hold at the sight of my son. How can he travel all the way down here without the use of the Yamato?

"Nero?" Dante scratched the back of his head.

I could feel Nero staring more at me instead of Dante, though that doesn't mean I'm frustrated by his appearance as well.


	7. Chapter 7: Voice of No Return

Earlier

There's no guide to getting to Hell without being damned to it. No one knows how any of the demons get here with portals. Maybe it's a breach in the dimension that demons crawl through. It's possible for a human to go to the underworld, just very difficult. All you need is access to a Hell Gate. It's easy to get in if it's open, if not you need the Yamato to open it up. With Vergil being alive now, good luck getting that from him. I, for one, don't have any way of opening a Hell Gate nor don't have to. I'm one-fourth demon who did have the Yamato in my arm at one point… until Vergil ripped it off. Maybe there's some way I can still summon that power from within.

Along the edges of Heppin and Vestos, a long back road runs behind several buildings divided by a wall. It blocked off the main freeway from the housing complexes around here. Some people put up grafitti on the wall, ranging from a squiggle to a drawing. If I had a spray can, I'd draw dicks all over the place. Maybe one of the dicks would be Dante… who knows. Most of the art are words or cartoony characters. Rarely it's something really detailed and if it is, it's been drawn over. Most people have said that many Hell Portals open around in this area, which makes it easier to get to Hell. At least by my logic. Checking my surroundings, there was not a person in sight. Nothing but the cracked road and the concerete walls surrounding me.

"Alright, lets get to work" I cracked my knuckles, satisfyingly crunching right on que. My first instinct is to just channel it out. Concentrating on my power, I tried to open a portal through brain power Getting into position, I attempted to summon a portal through my hands. Come on, stupid Sparda blood, will you activate?! After many hand positions and awkward ways of excreting a portal, holographic blue and red wings sprouted from my back, with talon-like hands resting on my shoulders. Of course that happens.

"Maybe they can make the portal?" I thought aloud, scratching the back of my head. Taking one of the wings, I tried to draw an "X" mark into thin air. Didn't work. Tried the other wing. Nope. Maybe if I repeat the awkward positions of summoning but with wings? Zilch. What if it's in the sword? Like it depends on how much power I put into it? Pulling out Red Queen, I charged up the blade then repeatedly made "x"s in the air. Nada. Not even the slightest hint of something working.

"Dammit!" I punched into the wall with my Devil Bringer. "Why isn't this working?!" I grumbled, shaking off the rubble. The impact made a decent crack in the wall, not going all the way through. It almost made the art piece better in a way. I'm not weak, dammit. I know there's a way, I just don't know how to get there. _I can show you how to get down there…_ "You again… since I'm running out of time how do you propose oh great voice" I sarcastically replied.

_You need to free me, then I can show you how to find Vergil_… Free you? What do you mean by that? Sounds like something in horror movies where the demon possesses you in the end. _In other words, you can have the power to protect your family. All you need to do is let me out, just like before when you first awakened. _You mean… Recalling the feeling, a faded memory of overwhelming power surged through me, wishing for more. When it was over, I was hollow again. It wasn't a huge loss since I used the energy to find Kyrie from the Order. _Don't you want to protect them? Do you even love them?_ The voice sneered at me.

"Don't patronize me" I snarled back at it, clenching my fists to be white. The voice snickered, then asked again. _Will you free me and save your family? Or be trapped and let everyone die?_ "Shut up!" I yelled, hearing my voice echo throughout the alleyway. At the end of an alley, a few kids who were playing ball peered over to me. Quickly, I diminished my wings, but they ran away before I could. I couldn't tell if they didn't care or were terrified of me… I hope they aren't because of the wings. _Don't fear what you are, there's nothing to hide anymore_…

"Ha, aren't you a know it all" I sighed, rolling my eyes. Thinking more about my situation, there's not much else that I can try. Something like the Yamato or a portal weapon to get me to Hell. Despite all of the brain power I've mustered, it's not going to do work. With a roll of my eyes, I muttered "How do I do the letting out thing?"

_Think. What do you usually do when you get angry or sleep?_ The hell how did you know I transformed in the night?! Oh. After my realization, I pulled my Devil Trigger and transformed. It's quite nice to be taller than normal, especially more than Dante or Vergil. "Alright now what?" I asked in a distorted voice. _Leave it to me. _The voice said in a louder voice, sounding like it came from me. Immediately, an overwhelming surge of power flooded through my body. It was stronger than the first time I awakened the Devil Trigger. My hand began to move on its own, forming the "x" mark in the air. Like seams ripping on fabric, the mark split open into a dark swirling vortex that barely retained its original shape. Without hesitation, I stepped in.

—

My love to party crash has diminished over the years, mostly because my body not being up to it anymore. In my youth, my energetic personality plus demon powers made me the living definition of energy. Fueled by the power of $20 pizza, I was the essence of party crashing. From birthday parties to stopping Vergil from opening the Hell Gates, it was fantastic. After wrecking my body over time and lack of pizza, I'm nearly pooped half of the time. I'll slink in, grab a slice, then trash the place later after I'm fueled up with booze. One thing I don't like about part crashing is when _other _people crash _my _parties. And there's only two people who do that: demons, and Nero. Witnessing Nero stopping me for a second time from gently killing Vergil is not a pleasant surprise.

"Well, well, well" I smirked, lowering my blade. "Will ya look at that"

Nero transformed back to his human form, frowning at the both of us. Vergil lowered his blade as well but still kept it out. He looked exactly the same as we left him, scuffed up but ready to fight. Just like Vergil when he was younger.

"What are you doing here?" Vergil icily asked, beating me to the punch. I gave Vergil the look of "I wanted to be the bad cop" but he ignored my wish to be the bad cop.

Nero flinched at his question, then stammered out "It's a bit of a story but—"

"Speak." Vergil demanded. The way he spoke made me flinch even. Although I barely had a father, he definitely gave me those stern father feelings. It was for sure a first time I've ever seen him be fatherly. Not that he's been much of one towards Nero ever.

"I've had a feeling to follow you guys weeks after you left," Nero spat out, stiffening up more as he spoke. "There's something—"

"But you left to come after us, just like before when I told you to stay away" I frowned, crossing my arms.

"I know!" he exclaimed, clenching his teeth. "That's why I ignored it! But after a while, a nagging feeling of something like you guys dying—"

"Do you not know about anything about your heritage?" Vergil snapped, looming over Nero. "There's nothing that will kill us, I've torn Dante into a new one many times and that bastard isn't dead yet!"

I threw my hands up in the air, annoyed at Vergil. It's not like I'm out to kill you all the time. You are the one who tries to kill me! All I wanna do is defeat you in a duel. Nero's confidence shriveled as Vergil stared him down. "There's nothing to worry about therefore we don't need you here."

"Dante pushed me aside before but I still helped!" Nero barked back at him. In a way, he's like a young pup against an old wolf. There's no way Nero's going to get anywhere with Vergil. Once his mind is made, there's nothing stopping. Until blunt force is applied. "Family is family and I don't leave any behind!"

"I HAVE NO FAMILY!" Vergil screamed, silencing any mummer or howl in the distance. His words struck through me like the first time he stabbed me with a sword. Any feeling I had was shattered to pieces, leaving only a shell of what it once was. Looking over to Nero however, my feelings are nothing compared to him. All of the anger he had vanished from his face. Vergil was taken aback by his words a bit with his face reddening. Composing himself, he continued in a calmer voice, "My family died in that fire over 20 years ago. I have no family, and certainly no son who can be considered as my own."

Without another word, he turned his back on the both of us and stormed off. Nero showed no anger or sorrow, just a blank face. Biting his lip, he stormed off as well in the opposite direction. All that's left is me and Devil Sword Dante. While I never considered Sparda as my father, I still considered of Vergil as a brother. No matter how many Hell Gates he opens and people he kills. As for Nero, it's a head-scratcher to figure out how to treat him. Although he's my nephew, he's just another person to make sure is alright. As long as he's alive he's fine, like everyone I know. Once Vergil is set straight, I can just continue my days at the _Devil May Cry _shop and be fine. Looking up to the murky sky, I sighed. There's no easy way out of this, huh?

"Damn…" I uttered, scratching the back of my head. Plopping myself onto the ground, I began to think about father. Why the hell do this whole thing? Making not two but three hybrids in the end. Leaving mother to rot in a burning house, and me to find my brother.

_What was father like? _A distant memory from my past came to mind as I zoned out. _Mother sat by the fireplace on a cushioned wooden chair, with a book in hand. I barely could make out what she was reading. Partly due to me refusing to learn how to read and it had no pictures Resting my arms on her lap, I ask her my question. She smiled, patting my white hair and put down the book on her lap. "A handsome devil who stole my heart" she answered lovingly. Not satisfied with her answer, I asked her again "Was he strong?"_

"_Very much so," she replied. "He's just like you and Vergil, rambunctious but enjoyed his time reading when he had the chance. Swept me off my feet when I met him. He would've loved to teach you two more how to duel"_

"_Then why doesn't he come home?" I muttered. Vergil glared at me from his book, and then to mother with a puzzled look._

_Mother's smile faded for a moment, then replied warmly "He's working hard to keep us safe. While he may be gone, he's still with us right in your heart"_

"_Someday I hope to be as strong to protect us all!" I proclaimed, whipping out my wooden sword._

"_Ha, you wish," Vergil snarked. Closing his book he continued, "you still can't beat me at dueling, then how are you going to protect us?"_

"_Why you!" I pounced onto him, but was held back by mother._

"_You don't have to be the strongest to protect someone you love!" She laughed, wrapping her arms around me. Then she knelt down to our level, pulled in Vergil for a tight group hug. As she squeezed us together, she said "All you need is to be strong enough to protect them. As long as you have the will, there will be a way."_

A way huh… If only it was that simple. Mother wouldn't have died if I was stronger, or if father came home. Though… maybe he did come home in a different way. The heirlooms of Rebellion and Yamato, sealing Mundus (until Vergil unsealed him). While it wasn't what I wish would happen, maybe it's the only way. Maybe… that's the reason he was trying to chase after. Hopping to my feet, I sling the sword back onto my back and chase after Vergil.

—

The sun beams down onto my face, stirring me to wake up. It was early in the morning, about 6 am. While it would be nice to sleep in a little, I had a duty to do. I pulled out my devotions from my nightstand and began to read. In some way it was nice to not have a snoring Nero be across from me as I read; however at the same time I miss it. Afterwards, I began my daily routine of getting ready before the kids woke up. Brushing out the tangles in my brunette hair, I finally get it to be slick and easy to run my fingers through. As long as I don't go out anywhere, I can pull off wearing my pajamas all day. But if Nero comes back, then I'll get more ready than usual. Fixing my scrunched sleeves, I left the bathroom and headed into the kitchen. Carlos was wide awake, playing on his smart tablet on the couch. Sometimes I question if they get up because they know I'm up or they are becoming early birds. I hope it's the second one because I do not want them to get up for food just because I'm up this early.

"Good morning Carlos" I greeted him.

"G'morning Kyrie!" he happily greeted back, not looking up from his game. Going to the cupboards, I pulled out the pancake mix. "You makin' pancakes? I thought that's for special occasions only?" Carlos asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Well since this is the last weekend before you guys go back to school, I thought I'd make it special for you guys," I replied with a smile. Carlos eagerly got up from the couch and to the counter in the kitchen. After getting out all of the ingredients, I turned the dial on the stove top and set the pan on the heated coiled plate.

"When is Nero coming back?" Carlos questioned, looking up from his tablet.

"I don't know," I answered, unsure of how to respond. "He'll call if he's coming home."

"Oh okay" he said, disheartened. Carlos returned to his game, focusing in on it more. _I'll be back in the evening…_ I know he's said that before and hasn't, but at least he'd return in the morning. Or give a call if he's going back to Red Grave. Maybe he forgot to call. Whisking the batter together, the once dry and liquid ingredients blended into a thick creamy batter. "Would you like anything in your pancakes, Carlos?" I ask him.

"I'll take—"

"I'll have rasberries in mine!" Julio blurted, popping out from the backdoor.

"Where have you been?" I exclaimed, surprised by his appearance. He was fully dressed with a stick in hand. And his clothes were dirty of course. Was it him that I heard the thumping outside? Most likely since my window is right next to the backyard.

"Practicing my swordsmanship for when Nero comes back!" he eagerly explained, swinging his stick up onto his shoulders like a blade. "I'm ready to take him down when he comes—!"

"He isn't coming," Carlos muttered.

"What?!" Julio cried out, squeaking a little.

Witholding my laughter, I reassured the two orphans, "Nero hasn't called me yet, but I can call him after I make you three's pancakes."

"Yeah!" they say in unison. Julio hopped up onto a chair beside Carlos and watched him play his game. Kyle slinked into the room as I finished putting the rasberries in Julio's pancake batter. "Now what do Carlos and Kyle usually have…" I pondered to myself, trying to remember. It's been a long time since I made pancakes, mostly because it's been difficult finding the mix lately. "Hmmm… I think Kyle's is plain and Carlos is chocolate chips." I threw in the chocolate chips in another and left the rest plain. The boys occasionally made remarks on the smell, and hearing their stomachs; but mostly kept their attention on Carlos' tablet. Once the pancakes were ready, I put them onto plates and served the boys. Kyle and Carlos swapped plates before digging in. I guess I was wrong, hard to tell sometimes about Kyle cause I swear he'll take plain somedays and chocolate others. I set a tub of butter with a spreading knife nearby between the boys. I wondered if I should ask Julio how early he was up, but his mouth was full of pancake. With how fast they're going through their food, it makes me wonder if all of them were up earlier than me. Settled with their food, I slipped by the boys and dialed on the landline.

"_Devil May Cry_, this is Trish how can I help you?" A dead-sounding Trish picked up on the other line. I've wondered if she has ever sounded happy on the job…

"Hello, Trish!" I answered cheerfully.

"Ah is this… Nero's girl?" she lightened her tone, peaking interest.

"Girlfriend, haha." I corrected her, slightly annoyed. I hate being called that, makes me sound like I'm something else. "Is Nero there?"

"Huh… funny you ask that…" Trish replied, puzzled by my query. "I thought he's still home with you."

"Nero left last week to visit Nico," I clarified. I wrapped my fingers around the coiled cord of the phone. "He's not back at Red Grave?"

"No… Nico dropped by to pick up her paycheck but didn't say much." Even though I couldn't see it, I could tell she didn't know where Nero could be.

"Hmm, okay thanks for letting me know" I tried to sound cheerful, but still sounded worried. Hanging up the phone, a sinking feeling hit the pit of my stomach. Something was off with Nero. Although he's a bit of a dunce at times, he wouldn't do this. Especially since we're close to refurbishing the orphanage building.

"Is Nero coming back?" Carlos asked, putting his dish in the sink.

"No, but we're going to go visit his friend Nico" I said, determined to find him. The boys cocked their heads, then shrugged. She's the last person who's seen Nero, maybe she has some answers on where he went.


	8. Chapter 8: Lost

Mornings ain't my thing, slogging out of bed hoping that no one is around to see ya in your jammies. Unless coffee is brewing. Not even ol' _Devil May Cry_ van can wake me up at times. The strong toasty scent of dark roast hits me over the head. And that's all I really need to wake up. I carefully went down the steps, trying to not miss a step. Glaring at the clock, the hour hand jerked itself to the number 7 spot, as the minute clicked into place. I scoffed at it. Who the hell wakes up at 7 am for a gun shop? Putting my grudge aside, I unlocked the door gates, scrunching them up to the left side of the wall. The metal gates rattled, barely scrapping across the wood floors. Once they were folded, I pulled out a rusty key to unlock the entrance. As per usual, the key refused to go into the lock. Jamming it in, it finally slips into the keyhole and I'm able to turn it. After a click, I take the key out, only for it to stay. Of course when it _does_ work, it doesn't want to leave. Yanking the key out for the 32nd time, it finally gets out of the stupid hole. Jumping over the counter, I waited for the first customer. The door chimed throughout the store after an hour, waking me up from my 1 second nap. To my dismay, it wasn't Nero. It was the same devil hunting couple, always come in to check out the latest wares. They slowly made their way through the store, carefully examining every gun. This will be a while… Under the cabinet was my latest project: a rocket launcher similar to Punchline but shoots tiny missiles. Didn't have a name yet, but it'll be a nice pretty Devil Breaker for Nero. If he ever comes back…

"Ooo what does that one do?!" a child-like voice gleefully spoke. At the corner of my eye, I saw the kid reaching out to a fully loaded rifle.

"Hey no touching the wares!" I barked, halting the kid from putting a smudge on it. He stopped and snatched his hand back to his side. "Can't afford another complaint!"

"I'm so sorry, Julio is a bit curious" A brunette girl hurriedly stated. She looked up to me and had a realization. "Nico?"

"Nero's gi—I mean Kyrie? The hell you're doing here?" I exclaimed, smiling a bit. All four went up to the counter. At a closer look, they were dressed in nice outfits, with Kyrie wearing a long dress that covered her from neck to ankle. They all looked like they just got out of church or went out to eat someplace nice, which at this early in the morning it's unlikely.

"I was hoping to ask you about something," Kyrie replied, webbing her fingers together. Off to the corner of my eye, Kyle was about to touch another gun's trigger. Before I could stop him, Kyrie glared and corrected him. "Kyle don't touch that! You don't know if that's loaded!"

"But it looks cool though…" he muttered, retracting his hand. While I wouldn't really mind showing the kid how to shoot, Rock and the police will kill me. These kids will be hard to manage unless if something can keep them from poking things. Tapping my foot, I came up with an idea.

I walked over to the three boys, lookin' like they're ready for another scolding. I bent down to them and said "Why don't you kiddos go upstairs and find Mr. Rock? He has a lot of candy to share," There's no candy up there. But there might be considering Rock is a junkie, it's still possible. With sparkles in their eyes, they stampeded up the stairs to the apartment. She tried to say something, but the moment she opened her mouth they were gone. Easily the best way to get rid of kids. Plus it'll get Rock off his lazy ass.

"Will they be okay?" Kyrie worriedly asked.

"Rock's handled kids before, they'll be fine" I reassured her, waving off her worry. She bite her lip as she looked around the shop. More people were coming in, windowshopping as per usual. "Why don't we go into the back, it can be a bit noisy 'round here once the day kicks into gear."

"Oh, okay," she hesitated, then followed me to the back room. The workshop area was pretty clean, thanks to Rock not chickening out. No nails on the ground, grease on the table, or tools not in the toolbox. Everything was packed up tight, even though it's a chaotic organized mess. At least it ain't a mess like Nero's, that asshole will have things everywhere. Kyrie tried avoiding any area that had weapons nearby, constantly checking to see if her dress got dirtied. Considering she lives with Nero, I don't blame her being paranoid. Once she situated herself in a corner, she relaxed her shoulders. "It's been a while since I've last seen you" Kyrie opened up, trying to restart the conversation.

"Yeah, still miss your pancakes" I smiled back, crossing my arms. "What brings you to Heppin?"

"It's about Nero… I haven't seen him since he left to see you," she worriedly stated, her smile quickly fading. I knew what she was going to say, but I dreaded hearing it. "I thought maybe he went back to Red Grave, but Trish hasn't seen him."

That bastard… He really went didn't he? Looking at Kyrie's worried face, I bite my lip. Three orphans and a boyfriend who goes on a trip to Hell. She can do so much better, hell I might even set her up with one. Man a smoke would be extremely nice right about now. With a sigh, I pushed through the dread and said "He went to look for Dante and Vergil."

Her eyes widened, cupping her hands to her mouth. Even under the dim lighting in the room, her face drained of all color. My stomach rolled itself over several times, irritating me even more. Once things are over, I will personally take him to Hell. Taking a deep breath, she asked "But why? I thought he wasn't going to go?"

"He had some stupid dream about V telling him that Dante and Vergil were going to die," I huffed, shaking my head. "I get nightmares but following through with it is stupid."

"So that's why he wouldn't tell me…" she frowned, resting her hand underneath her chin.

"You know about the dream?"

"Not entirely" She shifted her shoulders, rubbing her arms. "I tried to ask him but he refused to talk about it. Do you think this bee or vee person is related to Nero in anyway? Did they run the _Devil May Cry _shop when Dante was gone?"

I bursted into laughter, trying to imagine that kid run a shop. He could do it. Probably set it on fire by accident or let his cat and chicken make a bigger mess. I would do anything to see that right now. Kyrie gave me a confused expression as I nearly fell over imagining the thought. Recollecting myself, I calmed down and explained "Kinda related to Nero, it's a long story. Not exactly by blood, rather someone who helped during the Qliphoth incident. He ain't around anymore, but he was kind of close to Nero during that time. Not sure if pals or anything but it was something."

"Oh…" You think he'd tell her about V, considering he's half of his dad. Wonder what else he didn't tell her. Kyrie leaned back onto the coated wood shaving table. I came close to suggesting a chair but it was too late. Hopefully there wasn't any epoxy or stainable things that could ruin her dress. "Can Rock can watch the kids for a while?"

"Uhh, I guess?" I say taken aback by her question. Out of all the things she could say, I was not expecting that. A small mischievous smile grew across her face. It looked almost exactly like what Nero would do when he was about to do something stupid. Oh god… he infected her. "If you think you're going to drag me down to Hell, you gotta another thing comin'."

"I have something else in mind" she smirked. "It'll take a few more people to do it though."

Just when I get out of one hellishly stupid plan, I'm thrown into another. There's really no way of going down to Hell right now huh?

—

Stupid Nero. Foolish Dante. The scum can go burn a slow death. No, they can't even be scum of the earth. At least scum have a brain cell left to not mess with me. I'm only here for one thing. Destroy the tree. Not deal with this tainted bloodline that's ruined. Once it's done, I can finally be done with this horrendous family. The base of the Qliphoth tree stood tall before me. Enormous violet roots weaved through the burgundy ground, thin pink membranes decorated around the roots, pulsating. To my surprise, very few demons are around here. This could mean one of two things. One, the trunk is warding them off like the top of the Qliphoth tree; or two there's someone or something else that's around wiping them out. Regardless I'm ready to finish them off. Stepping up onto a lower root, I began climbing to the center. It didn't take long until a force pushed me off of the root and onto the ground. The fiend pinned me down to the ground but I still managed to react accordingly. Instinctively, I pulled my Devil Trigger and summoned my blades to point at the victim.

"You will perish for touching me!" I snarled at them, fire blazing out of my horns and scorching the ground.

"Don't do it!" a familiar voice yelped. A scruffy silver haired man with a dark red coat stood on top of me. I should've figured it was him. Dante, kneeling on my stomach, threw his hands in the air in surrender. "I was looking for you! Plus if I didn't tackle hug you, you would've scurried off!"

That is true, I would've avoided him at all costs. Calming down, I released the pressure off of his neck. Comically, he took great big gasping breaths as if I was actually choking him. With a roll of my eyes, I reverted back to my human form and shoved the fool off. "What important thing do you have to say to tackle me?" I irritatedly say, wiping down the filth that he put on my coat. Dante's rancid stench tainted the coat even more, not to mention the amount of demon blood spilt. "Now I really got to wash this coat, it has your smell on it."

"Before I can answer your question" Dante started to explain. "First, that's mean" Is it really though? "Secondly, you shan't be going without me" He pointed his finger at me. I raised an eyebrow, dissolving the swords out of the air. I'm pretty sure I can leave anytime but with the tackle it still stings to get up fully at the moment. Dante began to pace around me with his hands behind his back, looking like a detective who just solved a case and is explaining everything.

"Shan't is not a word," I corrected him.

"Doesn't matter!" he proclaimed, pointing to the sky. How he owns a shop is beyond me still. "You are trying to protect me!"

Without hesitation, I threw a holographic sword into Dante's chest. He staggered back, before acting like it was nothing. I wish he didn't have regenerative powers. "Oh I'm sorry, you said something completely idiotic. I couldn't stop myself," I dryly spoke. Dante glared at me, pulling out the blade from his chest. It dissolves into thin air once it comes out.

Shrugging it off, he continued his speech. "I finally figured out why you did everything; from the power search, accidentally— or intentionally making Nero, it all makes sense! You're basically trying to be Sparda 2.0! Well slightly worse since you are failing miserably at it."

My mind blanked out of a response other than "What the hell are you getting at."

"You can never be strong enough. You can fight all of Hell but you will never be strong that you wish to be."

"So you wish for death?" I sneered, clutching the hilt of the Yamato. "Cause if this is a matter of who is the stronger one—"

"Ahm!" Dante cut me off with an obvious fake cough. "I'm not finished!" He wagged his finger at me, then continued his grandios speech. I'll let him have this speech but once he's done I'm killing him for sure. "As I was saying, you can't achieve your goals, if anything every time you do this you wind up weaker than—"

In a blink of an eye, I snapped my wings open and tackled Dante. He blocked the attack with his sword, pushing me away. His hands slowly formed into claws, but then retracted to his human form. To think he's able to hold back is a bit impressive quite honestly, considering his temper.

"Every time, you gain this artificial power to be stronger!" he shouted as I slashed down at him again. Blocking the attack, our swords shot sparks off as it scraps against each other. "Then you lose it all again after I stop your killing spree!" I launched a flurry of attacks, each one being deflected off of his blade. Dante's movements slowed, but he still managed to dodge most of the attacks. Pulling out Ebony and Ivory, he shot at me several times, stunning me in the process.

"You forgot what real strength comes from" he continued, almost out of breath. Dante walked over to me and put his hands on my shoulders. "It comes from within, like in your heart and stuff."

"You speak of blasphemy. Strength comes from those who seek it. Not some petty heart crap." I bluntly said in a distorted voice.

"Then how come you never won when it came to taking over Hell or the world?" Dante countered, pushing off of me. "I could care less about humans until I met one. Demons were just dumb monsters until one became my friend and became almost human. Well they're still mindless human eaters but some have a heart like Trish. Nero stopped us mid-fight and punched the both of us almost out cold. How did that happen? It can't just because he trained, I've told him to stay out and look at what he did. Explain that to me!"

My anger faded, along with my powers. A pathetic, half of a human. Powerless just like before several weeks ago… I slipped onto the ground in a crouched position. The Yamato fell out of my grip, falling onto the ground. All of my fury was extinguished. Staring at the ground, I took notice of the crevices made by the fight. If I tried to smooth it over, it wouldn't be enough to fix it since it's too deep and burnt. No matter what I do, it can never be the same. "What can I do now then…" I muttered, in defeat. Dante looked at me puzzled by my inquiry. "Couldn't save mother, couldn't find father, can't be strong, can't have anyone, can't even be the damn demon that I should be!" I screamed at him. "I AM NOTHING. Everything has been taken away from me. I'm a pathetic human who has nothing else to go for. What else do you assholes want?! My pride? Why the hell not, I mean it doesn't matter." I glanced to the Yamato, and sighed "I try to be like father, but only wind up as an embarrassment of an offspring of him."

A chorus of chants swarmed my head, repeating my sins without stop. What's the point in trying to fight back when doesn't matter anymore. You lost your pride, your worth of living. Humans are weak, exposing that you are half of one shows you are even more worthless. How can you gain when all you do is lose to those inferior to you.

"That's not entirely true." Dante spoke softly. A pair of hands rested on my shoulders once more. I looked up to see Dante kneeling down, face to face with me. "If anything I'm worse than you. I'm banned from 21 pizza stores, forged a couple of bills, and occasionally commit tax fraud. Most of them happening after our fight at the Temen Ni Gru." I'm quite not surprised, though it's curious of how he got banned from 21. Maybe 5 but not over 10. Even though hearing Dante degrade himself was pleasant, it didn't rid of the hellish thoughts. Dante sighed, then tried a different approach. "You got some people worth fighting for… Yourself, obviously yours truly, Nero… umm that lady friend you met to make Nero?"

"I never knew her name…" I interrupted, shifting around to give my knees a break. "I used her to get information about the whole Fortuna situation before it exploded. Can't lie that there was something between us. Not sure if she's alive or not, most likely won't recognize me since it's been a long time." If she told me about Nero, maybe he wouldn't be alone. Then again, I was preoccupied with Mundus controlling me.

"She might be single still" he smirked, nudging me on the shoulder. I rolled my eyes. It's been over 20 years, it'd be an awkward reunion. Dante sat down next to me, leaning back with his arms supporting him. "I know what it is feels to be alone. Hell I haven't gotten a date since January," he continued. "But… that doesn't mean there's no one to be with."

"What, you?" I scoffed, turning away.

"Well," he scratched the back of his head. "You got Nero, not too late to stop being a deadbeat. Plus it isn't that bad living in the human realm, as long as you don't try to kill everything in sight."

"Hmph, as long as it doesn't try to provoke me."

"See you would do fine living up there!" Dante patted me on the back, chuckling a bit. "We got space to spare, still got a couple of books laying around the shop. Trish and Lady are pretty cool ladies, Nico can be a bit crazy but she's typically off with Nero."

"Mm" I grunted, a thin smile came across my face. "It would be nice to have some sort of place to stay, after living in hell for nearly 10 odd years."

"See! Told ya that it ain't too bad!" he slapped my back eagerly. Dante hopped to his feet, cracking a few joints in the process, then proceeded to stick his hand toward me. I don't understand. Why still treat me like I'm still his brother? After everything, I've said, done and more to kill him or get rid of him, he wants me to be with him. Grabbing his hand, he pulled me up off the ground. "Let's get rid of this weed problem" Dante smirked, cracking his knuckles.

"Hmph," I grinned, picking up the Yamato. Proudly clipping it onto my side again, I fixed my coat and began to walk side by side with him. Although I wish to be strong, it's not to survive anymore. When this abomination is gone, maybe I can finally live a more peaceful life.


	9. Chapter 9: True Natural

"Of course he just leaves like that. Like the fucking deadbeat he is… " I vent, storming through the fields of white grass-looking things. Several demons spawned in my way, further igniting my rage. As a Nobody crawled it's way up to my face, I broke out my Devil Bringer claws and punched a hole through it's mask. Staggering backwards, it became dazed before regaining consciousness and hobbled towards me. You won't give up won't ya? Pulling my Devil Trigger, I lunged toward it with everything I got. Everything that was bottled up until now exploded out of me. I tore into the demon, digging my sword deep into it. After ripping off a few of its arms, it disintegrated into acidic ashes. As it dissolved, the last remaining thing to dissolve was half of an arm. Seeing the arm, a burst of more rage came out of me. I combed the area for more prey until I found the next group of demons. A pack of Scudo Angelos spawned with shields protecting their leader, Proto Angelo. Latching onto the shield of one of the Scudo Angelos, I catapulted myself into the pack. I struck the shield of the Proto Angelo but was deflected by its blade. One of the Scudos threw me backwards with its long sword, leaving a big gash as I flew in the air and slide across the ground.

Digging my claws into the ground, I halted from sliding on the ground. Regaining composure, I launched another flurry of attacks at them. Latching onto their shields, I began clawing at their shields on all fours. Several of the other Angelos tried to pry me off but I clung on, eventually ripping their shields off. Once defenseless, I unleashed hell upon them by pummeling them down. One by one they began to dog pile on me in attempts to save their own. With all of my strength I was able to shred each one of them to pieces. Red Queen digging deep into the weak points of their armor, I pried them off of their defense and limbs. All fell into a bloody ash mess, until all that's left was me and the Proto Angelo. Despite the claw marks and deep wounds from Red Queen, it still stood tall and proud. Never losing composure during our fight. Without hesitation, it charged at me with full force. It's toothed blade ready to shred me into a new one. Gritting my teeth, I lunged at him with all of my might, thrusting my sword up through it. Puncturing through, Red Queen ripped through its tattered cape, shredding it into two. Finally, I got the upper hand. Until I realized that his blade went through me. Fuck. I can't lose now. I refuse to be defeated. By the look of the demon, he's about to go down. The vigor that he once had is fading from his eyes. This is my only chance to kill him before he can to me. Holding my breath I finished the job with a few more combos and the final shot with Blue Rose. The Proto Angelo collapsed to its knees before deteriorating completely.

My heart was nearing exploding after the fight. I collapsed to my knees and tried to catch my breath. Everything in my body, especially the gut, screamed at me. "_You can't be a knight if you fall so easily…"_ _Every muscle in my body ached as I attempted to stand up from defeat. I turned to Kyrie, who was standing on the sidelines watching us practice. Her brows furrowed in worry, holding on to her pendant that her mother gave her. "Come on," Credo stuck out his hand to me. Pulling me up off of the ground, he continued "Keep your back straight, never lose sight of the enemy and be on your guard. The three keys to a successful knight." "_

_I know that…" I replied, staring down at my feet. _

_Reassuringly, he put his hand on my shoulder and said "You will get there soon with diligence, practice, and something to fight for." _Hmph… funny how that came to mind just now considering the Angelos. Still wish I could've saved Credo out of all of them… Maybe things wouldn't be this way—

"Gah!" I yelped, clutching my side. Blood seeped through my hands as I put more pressure onto it. "I gotta find shelter… but where?" Looking around, in the distance there was some ruins in the area but had hordes of demons. That isn't going to happen, at least right now it isn't. Another glance around had another ruins site but barely had any demons around it, if not at all. Either Dante and Vergil took them all out already, or there's some behemoth ahead. I'm going to hope for door number one. Mustering up the rest of my strength, I took off with my Devil Bringer wings supporting me in flight.

Drawing close to the ruins, it became less looking like a pile of rocks and more of a crumbling castle. Huge gaping holes in the ceiling, with only ivory bricks keeping the structure. Bottom of the structure had a small opening where light was pouring out of. I landed into the entrance of the tower-like building, stepping over the bricks that was in the entryway. Inside was illuminated by torches against the walls and a chandelier that's still in tact. Shelves filled with books leaned against the wall, cobwebs forming at the corners. A red velvet chair with a wood finish hugged a corner of one of the bookshelves; along with a table with a lantern beside it. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust, including the ground. My boots are already coated with a light grey film after a couple of steps. Staggering over to the chair, I plopped down onto it and took a deep breath. My side gave a sharp sting, eventually slowing into a numbing pain. Glancing around, I spotted a scrap piece of paper on the table next to me and slapped it onto the open wound. It's not cloth, but it's better than nothing. Keeping pressure on it, I sunk into the chair more. "This sucks… why can't I be of help to anyone? I like working alone, but not being treated like I'm worthless."

A large torn up painting hung above the entrance, catching my eye. It depicted of a tall looming demon that looked similar to Dante, if he was even more frightening in his Sin Devil Trigger. "I bet he doesn't have to deal with crap that I'm dealing with..." With a click of my tongue, I turned my attention to something else. The pain began to fade out, but something kept irking me from fully relaxing. Shifting around, I pulled out V's book, the only thing Vergil gave me. I haven't bothered to read it yet. However I was always curious of what was inside. V constantly spouted poetry from it, maybe it'll do some good for me. Or make me into an odd ball like him. I opened the book and flipped through the pages. Every page had a drawing next to stanzas written in cursive. I wonder if V got his name from this book. Flipping to the front of the book, the name "Vergil" was scribbled on a blank page in cursive, akin to the cursive through out the book. He wasn't too shabby of a drawer if that was his, better than I could do. All I can do is draw dicks and stick figures. Slamming the book shut I vented to myself. "Why did I ever bother with that damn dream… all it did was scare me, then feel powerless…"

"Would you like to be more powerful?" A booming voice echoed through the tower. The chandelier's glass crystals shimmered in response to the voice. Glancing around, I couldn't find no one but myself in the area. I grabbed Red Queen without hesitation, ready to fight. There's something here, but I can't tell where it is. The voice continued "Strength is necessary to survive—"

"Wow aren't you a smart ass. Want a cookie?" I snipped back at it.

"Those who fall will perish beneath the strong." A red light began to seep through the cracks of the tower. It was a similar light that I've been seeing in my dreams recently, only more faint.

"What do you want?" I growled, getting ticked off.

"What you desire, is what I can grant." The voice remained in a collective tone, ignoring what I just said.

"How about you leaving me the hell alone" I grumbled under my breath. "I don't need anything, and I don't give a rat's ass what you're trying to get me to do."

The light in the room faded afterwards. Rolling my eyes, I averted my attention away from the weird lighting in the room. Flipping open the book, a picture of a tiger caught my eyes. Words decorated the page in an elegant cursive, complimenting the picture. Deciphering the words, it spoke of a wandering tiger that stalked the night. It reminded me of Vergil a bit with how fierce both can be. Looking at my blade, the middle was rusting from demon blood, the tip dulling, and the ignition getting low fuel. Should've refilled before I came down here. Compared to Vergil's sword and skills, I don't even come close. Hell I struggled to defeat Dante all those years back.

"I have come across many hunters such as yourself," the voice spoke once more. "All but one failed to see what I have to offer. He was one of my finest works of art, a fire that you certainly hold as well. I, myself, struggled to tend to his fire overtime. However, he became one of the most formidable foes to ever walk."

Up until Vergil or Dante kicked their ass.

"Unfortunately he fell from grace, deciding that the power was too much for him," he continued, dishearteningly. "However, from what I have seen, there's untapped power within you. I have seen it many times where you show what my prodigy had, if not more. If you let me help, let the beast within out, I can make you into the most powerful being known to Hell."

I can do more than just being on the sidelines like what Dante always insists me doing. Even though I had Devil Breakers and even my own Devil Trigger fully awakened, it's never enough. They are really strong though, maybe I need to take up on this so they can realize that I'm good too. And hopefully Kyrie wouldn't be so worried about me when I come back stronger than ever. While I'm not entirely trusting of the light emitting from beyond, I'm going to assume it's the sky. Hell is filled with red typically so it makes sense. Sighing, I made my response.

"Let's do it."

—

Driving down to Red Grave made me realize why Nero is terrified to drive. For a long time I've teased him about not driving. Now I understand after Nico's... interesting driving. How she can drive without the police blaring after her, makes them seem like they vanished from existence. From flying off of the roads to make a "detour", speeding through lights, making impossible turns that make my heart skip a beat, it makes me nauseous thinking about it. No wonder Nero walks to places when possible. Not to mention the filth that penetrates this vehicle. Nero tends to leave stuff around, but since living with children he cleans up more to set an example. Which, I thank the Lord for blessing upon us. After seeing Nico's mess at Rock's and Nero's typical mess in the garage, it's more messy than I feared it would be. Weaving through the sea of magazines and empty soda bottles, I reached the booth and sat down after shoving some screws and bullets aside. The kitchen, surprisingly, is the cleanest area of this vehicle. In between the driver and passenger seats was a pack of cigarettes wedged between. Once Nico stopped at the very few stoplights, she leaned back into her seat. Her hands meandered over to the box, fiddling with the first few ciggs. As her fingers began to curl around the cigarettes, the light flicked to green. Her hand jerked back to the wheel as traffic began to flow again. She quietly bit her lip, occasionally glancing to her hands.

"If you wanted, you can smoke…" I quietly told her. "I don't mind." I do mind. Though I know sometimes it can help ease nerves.

Nico glanced up to me through the rear view mirror and replied "Nah I'm alright. Plus it's a bad habit anyways"

"Oh, okay…" I withheld a sigh of relief. I hope she's not holding off because I'm around… I have had people who smoked around me before. My father used to smoke in the evenings. No matter the day, he'll always smell like ashes. I still have his pipe box as a memento in my closet, one of the few things I kept from them. Only once it was taken out by Carlos and he pretended to be a rich person. Nero freaked out, thinking that Carlos bought it when reality it was mine technically.

"Hey girlie, why don't you sit up front?" Nico asked, turning her head to me. "It's cleaner up here than back there. It's the only place Nero would clean."

I nodded then got up to walk over to the passenger's seat. It was cleanest part of the car surprisingly like what Nico said. After I sat down, I buckled up out of habit then fixed my burgundy skirt. For a long time we didn't speak, more so of unsure of what to say. I kept my attention to my window, watching the other cars swerve out of the way and sending vulgar messages. The same thoughts kept circling around in my head, constantly worrying over the same thing. I pray that the orphans are okay… I haven't been this long without them. And as for Nero… my stomach twisted in knots thinking about him. Doesn't help that the spiraling thoughts are making things worse.

"Sorry," Nico muttered in a quiet voice, keeping her gaze on the road. "I should'a said something to ya about Nero earlier…"

"It's okay," I quickly stated, waving it off. "You weren't sure so—"

"No, it's really not okay…" She grabbed a cigarette from the box, but kept it between her fingers. "I didn't think he'd be that determined to go after them."

"Neither did I…" I quietly spoke, thinking back to what he said before he left. Regardless, I still feel partly responsible for him going.

"But still," Nico continued. "I should've checked up on him instead of thinking that he went home. And being scared of telling you he might've ran off… "

"I've seen cowardice in knights worse than you," I reassured, chuckling a bit. "Trust me you're nothing like that!"

"Thanks, Kyrie," she smiled sincerely, relaxing her grip on the wheel. Right on cue, a car honked at us several times before zipping by us. "HEY!" She honked aggressively back then flipped them off. She clicked her tongue, shaking her head as she slid back into her seat. "Motherfuckers need to learn respect…" After saying that, she turned to me with my mouth a gape. Instantly Nico bite her lip, worried that she offended me for swearing in front of me. Meanwhile I can't help cracking a smile. Soon enough, we all laughed it off.

"We're just about there," Nico said, trying to calm down. Right when we were about to pass the _Devil May Cry _office, Nico veered off to the right. Couple of cars honked at us as we screeched to a halt on the side of the road. Pulling up to the curb, the van perfectly landed between two other vehicles, including a red motorcycle that was tire to bumper to the van. It tilted to the right before swaying back to the ground. After landing, I started to feel a little bit of breakfast coming back up. "Here we are, _Devil May Cry_!" I looked out my window to see an unlit pink sign over the door. The building blended in with neighboring buildings, dark tan bricks with lighter ones making an arch around the entrance, double entry doors with stairs leading to them. It looked like an old police department or an apartment complex. Nico got out of the van, with me following after her.

First step into the building and I already accidentally kicked an empty alcohol bottle. I let out a little gasp, not expecting the bottle to be there. If my mother, who was a very clean person, were to see this place, she'd be drained of all color before going into a cleaning rage. Pizza boxes scattered across the floor, beer bottles can be seen all over the place, and piles of papers and files stacked on top of the desk. Behind the desk was a blond long haired woman with a black leather skin tight outfit, laying back on a velvety red chair. Her black heels pushed back some of the paperwork as she read a magazine. On the other side of the room was another woman, with short black hair and a white outfit, lounging on a busted up couch. Her eyes were glued to the newspaper, with one of the headlines saying "Red Grave still struggling after Qliphoth incident!".

"I'm back bitchessss!" Nico shrilled as she slammed open the door, waving to the two girls. Both looked up from their readings and brightened up at the sight of Nico. The blond girl swung her legs off of the table and grinned widely. With mischief in her eyes, she looks like she's been dying to do something.

"Nicooo!" she shouted back. "Are you here to trash the Woman's room again?"

"You are not going to trash my room again!" the girl with black hair argued, crossing her arms. "I've already told you two that if you're going to trash a room, trash Dante's room. It took him a couple of days to realize everything was stapled to the ceiling that one time."

"His room is cursed when he's not around…" The blond muttered. After a period of silence, Nico changed the subject to introduce me.

"Oh this is Kyrie, Nero's girlfriend and the gal who was in on the Fortuna incident couple years back." Nico pushed me towards the girls.

"Oh yeah, I remember you" the blond spoke up. "Name's Trish"

"Lady, nice to meet you." Lady, the black haired girl, walked over to me and shook my hand. I noticed her red and blue eyes until now, which threw me off. I have never seen anyone with eyes like that before, maybe blue and green but it's so rare in Fortuna. "Nero talks a lot about you."

"Oh really?" I nervously laughed. No one has ever told me that Nero talks about me. Typically, especially before the Fortuna incident, I keep getting asked about why I was with Nero. It wasn't pleasant after the third ask.

"What brings you two here?" Lady asked me and Nico.

I looked to Nico. She gave me a nod to say it, even though I was hoping she'd help me say it. Quietly rolling my eyes, I took a deep breath and said "Well, actually we came to tell you that Nero left."

Trish and Lady's eyes widened in shock. "As in… he dumped you?" Trish asked, showing concern. Lady webbed her gloved hands together and stretched them out, cracking all of the joints.

"No! No no no no!" I panicked, waving my hands. "He left to go find Dante and Vergil in the Underworld!"

"Oooohhh..." they say in unison. Trish sighed in relief.

"Thank god he didn't dump you," she exhaled.

"Trish!" Lady sternly said, lightly punching Trish. She gave a confused look, shrugging her shoulders. Rolling her eyes, Lady continued "What motivated him to go? And how did he get down there?"

"Nero's been having weird ass dreams about V telling him that Dante and Vergil were going to go kick the bucket if he didn't come to save them," Nico explained.

"Didn't think that scrawny kid would be coming back in a dream..." Lady pondered, rubbing her shoulders. I couldn't think of anything else to say outside of feeling regret over everything. So I sat in awkward silence, unsure of what to add to the conversation. Trish frowned, rubbing her hands through her long blond hair.

"Still leaves the question of how he got there…" Trish muttered to herself. "The only way I can think of is that of the Yamato… but he doesn't have that anymore since took that with him…"

"Maybe he inherited its powers?" I suggested, throwing an idea out there. All eyes turned to me with puzzled look. "He told me after the Qliphoth incident, he could still feel some of its power. It was barely there. Also, because now that his arm is fully back and gained new abilities, maybe he also gained the ability to use portals like Vergil?"

All three of them looked at me with an even more confused look. My face reddened in embarrassment. Nico came over and patted me on the shoulder, saying "I think I get what you're tryna saying, but whenever I saw him fighting, he still fought like he still was missing an arm. Only difference is that he has a Devil Trigger that makes him go into a demon form."

"Wait he can do what now?" I exclaimed, surprised by her response. Nico looked back at me with similar surprise, then put her hand up to her face, shaking her head. Once he returns home— no once I find him I'm going to talk with him about keeping secrets. We agreed to be honest about things to each other after Fortuna. But I guess there's somethings he still likes to be secretive about.

"Well, thanks for telling us this..." Lady said, shoving her hands into her pockets. "I'm unsure of what to do outside of hoping all three will be back in one piece…"

"Actually, I had an idea of going down there," I spoke up. All three stared at me again with widened eyes.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Lady and Nico exclaimed in unison. Trish just giggled to herself, then realized other people's reactions then pretended to be equally surprised. Lady exclaimed "Do you realize that's where demons live and I don't know, the root of all evil is?!"

"Well yeah I've been taught that in Sunday school," I replied nonchalantly. I exhaled and explained, "Look. I don't want to sit on the sidelines again. I know Nero well enough to when he leaves like that, it's not a good sign. He's done that before and it costed his arm being turned into a monstrosity... The entire time, I felt helpless against the things he's going through. Sometimes feeling it was my own fault for things happening. And I don't want to be like that anymore. I learned how to use a sword, and I know that dangerous things lie ahead. That's why came to I ask you two to come with me along with Nico."

Turning their heads towards each other, they looked at one another with worry. Trish then went back to me and happily responded with "I know how to get down there. There's a weak spot where portals open up easier and demons tend to spawn there. I'm pretty sure Nero would know where that would be."

"Are you implying you're going to help her get down there?" Lady demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"What if I am" she snarked, raising her eyebrows. "I mean if she's anything like Nero, she'll find a way regardless of what we say."

"Normally I try to let him do his own thing," I chirped, taking a step forward. "But in this case, I'm going to harass him no matter what he says."

"Atta girl!" Trish patted me on the back, like a proud teamplayer. A small sense of pride and joy coming from Trish's pats. "We need more gals like yea! Bold, young, and completely unaware of what Hell is."

Now I'm questioning what I just signed up for. Did I sign up to go to Hell or _stay_ in Hell? I hope it's the first one. Regardless I just smiled, pretending to know what she was talking about.

"Well if she's going to say hi to Nero, might as well stock him up on Devil Breakers" Nico suggested.

Lady, rolling her eyes, sighed. "Why the hell not. Gotta keep you three in check."

I gathered all three of them and hugged them all. Trish and Lady weren't expecting it, standing stiffly as I pulled them closer together. Nico was used to my hugs, and hugged me back. Part of me feels relieved about everything. I'm finally on my way to Nero, and everything will be okay. But at the same time, I'm going to Hell.


End file.
